My Wee Dragon
by WaterNymph125
Summary: What would happen if Harry was brought across to Auradon? When old feelings and memories resurface, how will it affect Mal and the others?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Descendants!**

 **Authors' Note: Hope you enjoy!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 1**

 **...**

"Mal," called Fairy Godmother. "Come on in!"

Mal had been sitting outside Fairy Godmother's office for the past 15 minutes, waiting nervously to be called in. She wasn't sure why she was here, she only knew what Jane had told her when she came looking for her, that Fairy Godmother wanted to see her immediately. She had sat thinking about everything that had gone on in the past few weeks, and couldn't think of anything she had done that was really bad, bad enough to be called into Fairy Godmother's office for, anyway. Well, she had threatened to shave Audrey's head, and to beat up Chad, but that wasn't really anything out of the ordinary!

She walked into the office, and glanced around. "I swear; there's something new in this office every time I come in here!" she thought to herself.

Fairy Godmother's office suited her perfectly. Bright, baby-blue wallpaper, glass slippers engraved along the skirting board, the desk drawers, and the cupboard handles. All the furniture was a gorgeous shade of cream; the curtains were a darker shade of blue and pulled right back, letting the sun shine through, making the whole room look more open and spacious.

"Sit down, Mal," she said, indicating to her perfectly spotless sofa. Mal sat down and Fairy Godmother took a seat beside her.

"So, am I in trouble, cause, I wasn't actually going to shave Audrey's head, she was just being, well, Audrey, so I said that to shut her up, but I wasn't-"

"Mal," Fairy Godmother interrupted, trying not to laugh, "You're not in trouble! I didn't know that you threatened to shave Audrey's head, but we'll just pretend that I didn't hear that," she said, winking at Mal.

"Soooo, why am I here?" Mal questioned. "I was just getting to that!" she replied, still laughing.

"Now, Mal, this has been strictly confidential up until now, and before I elaborate, I am asking you to keep it that way until I announce it next week during assembly, okay?"

Mal studied her for a minute before replying. "Okaaay," she said warily.

"Now, some of the other children from the isle are going to be joining us in two weeks. And-"

"What?! Why?! Who?!"

"Now, Mal, please calm down. This was always going to happen, and because things were going to well with you, Evie, Carlos and Jay, we decided to speed it up a little. Don't you want more kids to get off that island?"

Mal sat quietly for a moment, picking at the pale pink nail varnish Jane had applied for her yesterday. "Mal?" Fairy Godmother prompted her gently, noticing the unshed tears in the corner of her eyes. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Receiving no answer, she sat quietly for a moment, also. "Mal, you know you can talk to me if you need to get something off your chest. Are you alright?"

Mal looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, in a small, quiet voice.

"Are you sure?"

Mal cleared her throat and sat up straight, rubbing at her eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine. So, you're bringing over some more VK's. Great. Where do I fit into this?"

If Fairy Godmother was shocked at the sudden change in her demeanour, she didn't show it. "Well, emm," She gave Mal another once-over, and cleared her throat, plastering that permanent smile back on her face. "Right, well, I want you to be in charge of looking after them!" She said, beaming at her. Mal sat there in shocked silence. "You'll be in charge of showing them around, helping them find their way around the school, helping with any questions or problems that they have, just really making sure they feel comfortable and welcome, okay?"

Mal blinked in surprise. "Emm, sure! But are you sure that you want me to do it? I mean, I'm not exactly the poster kid for "welcome" and "happy" and "friendly", am I? Wouldn't you be better off with Jane, or, I don't know, Lonnie?

Fairy Godmother was quick to reassure her, realizing she would have to convince Mal of her potential. It broke her heart to hear that Mal had no real confidence in herself whatsoever. "No, Mal, we're sure we want you. I mean, think about it, you're from the isle, so immediately, there's that, you know, real connection already, and, I personally think that you out of all the VK's have come the furthest from when you started, and I'm so proud of you, so we were always going to pick you!"

Mal took all this information in. "You're proud of me? Me? Seriously?"

"Yes, Mal! So, will you help us?"

"Yes! I mean, you seem to be counting on me, and, you know, the kids on the isle, they deserve so much better than what they have right now, and all of them deserve a second chance, so, yes, I will definitely help. How many kids are you bringing over this time?"

Fairy Godmother sat watching her. "Just two, for now. They'll arrive two weeks before school starts, so you'll have plenty of time to help them settle in. Next summer we're going to extend our dormitory building, so we will be able to bring more children across for the start of next years' classes."

"Sweet. So who are you bringing across?"

Fairy Godmother unlocked the top desk drawer and took out a rather thick file. She saw Mal eyeing it curiously. "We have to have a full background on them and a list of the offences they've committed, just for health and safety reasons. We don't use it against them, and no one here ever finds out about it. Once they're here, they have a completely clean slate."

"Hang on a minute!" she said, causing Fairy Godmother to look up at her. "That file has two kids' list of offences in it, and it's as thick as my science textbook. When you brought Jay, Evie, Carlos and I across, you brought across the most evil kids on the Isle, and me! So, how thick was our file?!"

"Ha! It was very, very, **very** thick! I had to get Mr Smee and Mr Ray to help me carry it!" Fairy Godmother said, chuckling. Mal laughed." I bet we caused everyone such a hassle," she muttered. "Anyway, what kids are coming over?"

"Ahh, here it is! So, we have Gil Gaston, son of Gaston, and Harry Hook, son of Captain Hook." When Mal heard that name, she almost collapsed. Everything started to swim in front of her and she was suddenly flooded with memories of her and Hook together back on the Isle. "Harry? Harry Hook is coming here?" she croaked.

"Yes? It is that a problem?" she asked kindly. "No! No, not at all!" she replied quickly. "So, umm, I'm gonna go now, cause I promised Evie I would meet her for lunch, so if you need to talk to me again, just, come find me!" She got up and practically ran out the room, leaving Fairy Godmother to wonder what on earth was going on.

...

 **A/N – Please leave a review, and thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything to do with Descendants!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 2**

 **...**

Harry strutted through the streets of the Isle, making faces at the young children, brandishing his hook at everyone and just generally scaring them all a bit. When he reached the centre of the Isle, he shoved his way through the crowd, not caring about anyone or anything, just wanting to get where he was going, and fast.

"Harry! Hey! Harry!" shouted Gil. "Harry!"

Harry shook his head and continued in the direction of the harbour. Gil sped up, and jumped, swinging his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry sighed and muttered in the direction of his friend, "What da ye want Gil?"

Gil, after staring at him for a moment, replied, "What's got your leather pants in a twist?"

Harry glared at him. "I'm busy," he stated.

They walked in silence for a moment and turned a corner. Harry, always alert, realized that Ursala's Fish and Chip Shoppe was coming up ahead, and moved to the other side of the street, just in case Uma was loitering about outside. He sped up slightly, but Gil didn't notice.

"Oh! Are you getting ready to go to Auradon?" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Shut up ye big git! Be quiet!" Harry stormed off angrily, leaving Gil behind to try and catch up. Suddenly, Harry turned around and walked back to face Gil. Looking him in the eye, he said in a very low voice, so low that Gil had to strain his ears to hear, "Listen, I'm just a bit well, umm, apprehensive," he said, letting the word roll of his tongue.

Gil stood still for a minute, with a confused look on his face. "Appre- Appre-"

Harry smirked. "It means nervous."

Gil processed this information, rather slowly, then said, "What are you nervous for? You're getting off the Isle! I'm not nervous! I'm excited! There's nothing to be nervous abo-"

Harry grabbed his collar and pulled him close, glaring at him, and yelled, "I said, SHUT UP!" People stopped in the street and turned to stare at them. All it took was Harry to spin on his heel and wave his hook in the air, pointing at a few, for everyone to suddenly find something to be very, very busy with. He turned back to Gil. "I've got to go."

With that, he simply walked away, in the direction of the harbour, with no interruptions.

After walking for around 10 minutes, he reached his destination. He sat down on the end of the pier, with his legs dangling over the edge. He quickly became lost in thought, about the letter he had received from the Auradon School Council, about leaving the Isle, and above all, about Mal. He had already accepted the request to go to Auradon, without question, he had to leave the Isle, and he had to see Mal again. That was probably the one thing he was excited for! He didn't particularly want to go to school, but when they had last communicated, Mal said he would love it, but then, she didn't actually know he was coming, did she?

He missed her. God, did he miss her. The fiery little spitfire that stole his heart. He thought back to the day that they officially got together.

 **...**

 **1 year ago...**

 **...**

They were walking together, not really going anywhere, but just strolling together, well, strutting together, throughout the streets of the Isle. He had his arms around her shoulders, keeping her close to him. They were enjoying each others' company, and weren't really paying attention to where they were going, but they realized when they were outside the Chip Shoppe. Uma stormed out, probably after having another argument with her mother, and saw the two together. Harry tried to tighten his hold on Mal, and keep them moving forward, but she swatted him off and swaggered over to her.

"Hey Shrimpy! How ya doin'?"

Harry swore under his breath, but god was he proud of her. Not many people would deliberately pick a fight with Uma, let alone people who were younger than her! He followed her over and stood behind her, placing his arms on her shoulders, half leaning on her.

"Harry!" Uma exclaimed. "Can ya hook her for me Harry? Please? She called me Shrimpy again!"

Harry glanced at his and Mal's feet, then looked back up at Uma, and starting talking to her, while tapping the back of Mal's shins with his foot, very discreetly.

"Well, Shrimpy, explain to me why I would hook her, when I actually couldn't care less? He replied, grinning.

Uma glanced between them, noticing how relaxed Mal was, and how she leaned back into Harry, and he let her! She noticed the affectionate way that Harry was staring down at Mal.

"NO! Harry! No! You're not supposed to be with her! You're supposed to be with me! How-Why-NO!

And with that, Mal let off a smoke bomb, purple of course, and they both ran for the hills, falling over each other laughing at the expression on Uma's face. When they reached the sea, they stopped, tried to catch their breath, and tried to stop laughing!

When they calmed down, they stopped for a while, and just looked out at the sea. It was getting dark, and Harry knew Mal would have to head home soon or Maleficent would punish her. He noticed her shivering in the cool, night air and pulled her in close to him, wrapping his arms around her. He gently grabbed her chin, and turned her so that she was facing him.

"Mal, I- I-"

She giggled. "Ssshhhhh. It's all good."

She snaked her hands around his back and pulled him closer to her, stretched up and kissed him. Harry felt as though he was the luckiest guy in the world, marvelling in the way her lips felt against his.

 **...**

 **(End Flashback)**

 **...**

It hurt Harry to reminisce about that day, or really, any time he had spent with Mal after that, because he had always had a little bit of a crush on her. All the other guys fawned over Evie, but no, he was always fascinated with Mal, and how someone so delightfully, well, perfect, in his eyes, could be so capable and so wonderfully evil at the same time, and it just made him love her even more. And once he found out that she loved him back, they only had had just over four months together, before she was ripped away from him again. He missed her, and that was the main reason he had accepted the request. He knew she would be hurting, the Isle part of her within her not allowing her to conform, and be like everyone else and he wanted to be the one to help her. He'd seen her on the news lately, with her blond hair, and pink nails, and a deep, hidden sadness in her eyes. He had to be the one to fix that. He just had to.

"Just you wait a wee bit longer," he breathed softly into the night. "I'm coming for ya soon, ma beautiful wee dragon. I love you." He watched the dark sky, and all the stars, as his message was carried further and further out into the night.

 **...**

 **Authors Note - Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. So, for updating this story, I'm going to try and do that to roughly every 3 days, and when I start to get more chapters written, I'll maybe post more frequently. Again, thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Descendants!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 3**

 **...**

Mal sat on her bed, with her legs crossed under her. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and the blankets were covered in tissues. Her head was pounding, her nose sniffly, and she was super tired.

"So, this is what it feels like to be dying!" she laughed inwardly to herself.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

She couldn't bring herself to get up, so she sat silently, wondering if whoever was outside would just go away.

"Mal?!" That's Carlos.

"Mal?! Are you good?" That was Jay.

Both sounded quite nervous, and panicked. Evie was the last to speak, and the only one who sounded remotely calm.

"Mal, honey? I know you're in there, you might be able to convince these two oafs here, but I'm your sister, and your best friend, and you can't trick me. Do you need to talk? Mal, please, let us in."

She could hear Jay and Carlos muttering about how she's their sister too, but Evie shushed them.

"Okay, fine! Just come in."

Jay tripped over in his haste to enter the room and make sure his sister was alright. Everyone stopped for a minute and stared at Mal.

"Mal," Evie said, rushing over to her, "Are you alright? Talk to me honey!"

Mal sat quiet for a moment. She sat thinking.

"Can I actually tell them what's wrong? No, I can't, can I?" she thought.

"Mal?" Evie prompted. She looked up, through her teary eyelashes. Jay and Carlos watched her closely.

"Guys, I'm fine. I'm just sick, I think," she muttered.

"Oh, Mal!" Evie exclaimed exasperatedly . "You've been working too hard! Why didn't you tell us! You missed our lunch, Jay almost flipped a table he was so worried!"

Mal glanced between them all. "I'm sorry guys," she croaked. "I just feel really, really shit. Everything hurts! Why am I sick? I don't get sick!"

"Mal, shush. Don't strain your throat." Evie jumped to work. She felt Mal's forehead, and winced.

"Jay, Carlos, I've got jobs for you." The boys jumped up, eager to help, awaiting their instructions.

"Okay," said Evie. "Now, Jay, I need you to run down to the infirmary and get me some painkillers, some towels, some blankets, some more tissues, no wait, lots more tissues and then run to the kitchen and grab as much chocolate as you can."

As soon, as she was finished, Jay nodded, winked at Mal, and sprinted off on the errand. "Now, Carlos," Evie continued.

"Yes?" Carlos jumped, ready to help. "I want you to go and let Fairy Godmother know that Mal will not be attending afternoon classes and then go and get Ben."

"Already on it!" Carlos yelled, the also sprinted out of the room.

"Now, Mal. Can you stand up for me, honey?" Mal nodded then got up shakily off the bed. Evie pulled back all the covers and let all the tissues fall on the floor.

"Now, into the bathroom, please," Evie said. She sat Mal down on the end of the bath, and got a facecloth out of the cupboard, running it under warm water. She started to talk to Mal while gently patting her face.

"I know you're not sick Mal. You've been crying so hard that you've managed to make yourself feel sick. But, the question is, why?"

Mal looked up at her. "I don't know," she whispered, trying to wrack her brains to come up with a plausible answer, that Eve would believe.

"I guess, I just, I know it sounds strange, but, well, I miss home. And I know that that is like, totally crazy, but I do!"

Evie led her back out into the bedroom and got her laying down in bed. She pulled the covers up over her, then sat down beside her. Evie sighed.

"Mal. I know its strange, cause, I mean, Auradon is so much better than the Isle, but you know, it was our Isle, and I miss it too! I don't think that makes us weird, or stupid, I think it's natural!"

"Thank god," thought Mal. "I mean, it's half true, I do miss certain things, well, people, on the Isle, just not the actual Isle!"

"Evie," Mal started, "Don't tell the others about this, okay?"

"I won't. Don't worry," she said, smiling at Mal, leading her back to her bed and settling her in.

At that moment, Ben, Jay and Carlos ran back into the room. Jay and Carlos, knowing nothing was seriously wrong with Mal, didn't run over to the bed, instead just dropped all their supplies and tried to catch their breath, after sprinting around the whole school. But, Ben, on the other hand, did not know that she was not seriously ill and sprinted over to her bed, and started fussing around her, fluffing the pillows and smoothing out her long, blonde hair.

"Ben, I'm fine! Please, stop fussing, everyone!" Mal yelled.

Everyone stopped. They were all staring at her, or rather, her eyes.

"What now?" exclaimed Mal.

Shocked silence met her.

"Mal, emm, your eyes," said Carlos, "They're emm, glowing."

"What?!"

She pulled Evie close to her face and whispered, "Are they green?"

"You're eyes are always green, silly" she whispered back.

"You know what I mean," Mal whispered furiously. "Are they magic green?"

Evie quickly glanced at her eyes. "No, they're just brighter than usual," she replied, still whispering. "Just take a few deep breaths and calm down, okay?"

They pulled apart and turned back to the rest of the group. Ben bent forward to kiss her forehead, but Mal sat up quickly, turned away, and pretended to have a coughing fit. He pulled back, and the rest of the group watched awkwardly.

"Listen, I'm really tired," Mal said, trying not to start crying again, "So, do you mind just leaving me be for a little while?"

Everyone glanced at each other. Ben spoke first. "Right. Yes, we'll leave. You rest, okay? I'll come back after school and bring some of Mrs Potts' soup for you. Guys, let's leave, now, give her peace."

Once they had all flooded out of the room, she jumped up, and threw off the covers, and walked over to the little balcony at the corner of the room.

She stood, staring out. She could see the sea. She always liked the sea. The sea reminded her of Harry, and she liked that. She thought back to one of the occasions her and Harry had been together at the sea.

 **...**

 **1 Year Ago...**

 **...**

They were sitting in the Chip Shoppe, and Harry had his arm flung round Mal's shoulders, not caring about Uma any more, they had been together for about a month, and they didn't care who saw them together. They could hear screaming and arguing coming from the kitchen.

"I'm sick of this," Harry said, jumping up and pulling her with him.

"Where are we going?" Mal asked, grinning.

"Ssshhh! I'm taking you somewhere special. Coming?"

Mal watched him. "Sure. Why not?"

Harry smiled at her, gave her a quick kiss, then sped out of the restaurant with her.

They walked for a while, Harry leading them, pulling her down streets that she had never ventured down before. As they neared their destination, Mal began to smell salt, and seaweed, and hearing the waves crashing against the rocks. She grinned at Harry, and started to speed up. When they came out into the clearing, Mal was surprised. She thought they would just come out at a place on the shore, but no. They came out on a cliff, that towered over the beach. Harry sat down and dangled his legs over the edge. Mal sat down beside him and he wrapped his arms around her. They sat together, in a comfortable silence, just watching the waves. Harry knew that Mal would love this. She reached up and pulled his head closer to her. She pressed her forehead against.

"I love you, pirate," she whispered softly.

He pulled her even closer to her and whispered back, "I love you more. You're my wee dragon, aren't ye?"

She kissed him gently, then turned back and watched the sea again.

 **...**

 **(End Flashback)**

 **...**

Watching the sea now, from the balcony of her bedroom, she couldn't help but realize that she still loved him.

"I love him," she breathed out, her eyes still trained on the sea.

She thought for another moment.

"I've never actually loved Ben, have I?"

As all these thoughts swarmed her, she kept thinking and comparing the two, with Harry easily coming out on top. Her eyes filled with tears, and she tried to calm down.

It didn't work.

She backed into the room and tried to focus on something relaxing.

It didn't work.

 **...**

 **Authors Note: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – Hey guys! Really sorry for the long wait. Anyway, hope you guys love this chapter!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 4**

 **...**

"Do you guys think something's up with Mal?" Jay asked the group. He, Evie, Carlos, Ben, Jane, Lonnie and Doug were sitting in the cafeteria. Everyone nodded in agreement, except Ben, who sat looking off into space with a stony but somewhat sad look on his face.

"I think that she's just, uh, feeling a bit swamped," Evie said cautiously, remembering the warning Mal had given her earlier.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," replied Jay, still not fully convinced that his friend was okay. Jane spoke up. "I mean, it's Mal! You've known her since well, forever, so if something was really wrong, don't you trust her enough to tell you?"

The VK's glanced at each other.

"Jane," Carlos started, "Back on the Isle, Maleficent was always quite, well, uh, cruel to Mal," he said carefully.

"But," Jane looked gobsmacked. "Don't all parents love their children?"

"No," all the VK's answered simultaneously. Jane, Lonnie and Doug sat there in an awkward silence, staring at each of their respective villainous partners. Ben still sat still, looking off as if he hadn't heard a word they had said.

Suddenly, Evie jumped up off her chair. "Mal- Go! GO!"

That was all she had to say, before Jay had sprinted out of the cafeteria, knocking over three tables in his haste to get out, Carlos quick to follow. Evie leant over the table, and gave Doug a quick peck on the cheek, before running after the two boys. Ben had disappeared, and Lonnie and Jane were frozen in shock.

"Evie!" they shouted. "What the hell's happening?!"

Evie paused at the door, turning to them. "I'll explain later. Stay here," she warned them, and with that, took off like a bat from hell once more.

Jay, didn't stop once, not thinking of anything but keeping his sister safe. He ran like he had never ran before, even faster than he had ran during the final of the Tourney game last year. He attracted the attention of almost everyone, as they had never seen anyone run so fast!

Carlos followed behind him, huffing and puffing the whole way, but determined not to stop, Mal needed him. Coach Jenkins, who had never seen Carlos run in all his time at Auradon, and who had never seen Jay run like that, like his life depended on it, yelled after them to stop, but they were so focused they didn't even hear him.  
Evie, who had never liked any kind of physical activity, was still managing to run like there was a sale on at her favourite shoe shop, and was in 6 inch high heels, so any attention that she attracted, was immediately directed to her running, but then her feet.

And then, to poor Doug, running after her, not having a clue what on earth was going on.

"Evie!" He shouted after her. "Wait up!"

All three arrived in the dorm corridor at the same time, thanks to skill, stamina and some pretty darn good shortcuts. Doug had finally caught up to them, and was immediately told to stay put outside the door, which was quite hard, as he could still hear sobs and groans coming from inside the bedroom, he presumed they were Mal's.

The three VK's burst into the room and immediately went to business. They had done this enough times before to know the drill. Jay grabbed Mal and got her sitting up, and supported her head. Evie started talking to her, jumping straight in front of her and getting her to copy her breathing pattern, and Carlos ran into the bathroom and grabbed the supplies that Jay had grabbed earlier, when they thought Mal was sick. He handed them to Evie and Jay accordingly. Jay applied a cool compress to her head to reduce her temperature. Evie started to calm Mal down, sitting in front of her, and holding her hands.

"It's okay," she murmured comfortingly. "It's all gonna be okay, Mal, just take deep breaths, there we go, in and out."

As Mals' breathing pattern began to return to semi-normal, the other VK's glanced at each other, worriedly. The tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and she looked even worse than she did earlier. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her face was ashen, a result of a mixture of illness, shock and fear. Her lips were chapped, and her hair was a mess.

"Evie?" She croaked, her throat raw. "We need to talk."

Then, Jay jumped in. "No! We're sick of this, Mal! We're you're friends too, and we're sick of you never telling us anything. We're your family, Mal, not just Evie, and you know you can tell us anything." He finished, looking decidedly upset about everything.

"Jay," Evie muttered. "I'm not sure if now's the best time for this,"she said, looking pointedly at him.

"He's right, E," Mal said, glancing at up at him through tear-heavy eyelids. "They need to know too."

"Alright," replied Evie, looking somewhat reluctant, and began to sit down. Then, suddenly, she jumped up.

"Doug's still outside!" She raced over and opened the door, closing it softly behind her. Doug stood there, looking rather apprehensive.

"Is- Is she ok?" He stammered.

"Yeah, Doug, she's fine," Evie sighed. "You can't tell anyone, but, Mal, she has panic attacks sometimes."

Doug didn't respond, just nodded his head slightly.

Evie placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Honestly, Doug, she's fine. Relax. I gotta go, though, so I'll see you later?"

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and re-entered the dorm room.

Once everyone was settled down, Jay couldn't bear the silence any longer.

"So, what's wrong, Mal?" He asked her.

Mal looked at each of her three best friends, and then stared down at her hands, picking at her nails.

"I don't know, Jay," she muttered softly. "I miss home." She said grabbing her hair in her hands, tugging at it. "I miss not having to worry about what people think of me, I miss not having to live up to anyone's standards, I- I miss me," she admitted.

"I haven't felt like myself in a long time. I feel like some dumb, blond, prissy princess! And it's not me, guys. I want to be able to go out in my leather, or, or in sweatpants and a hoodie, and not have to worry about the formal complaint letters that Ben will get sent, or that Fairy Godmother will come around and ask me to change, cause, it's what I want to wear! This girl, that I've been for the last four months, isn't me! I miss me. I want me back," she said, her eyes tearing up again.

The three VK's sat in silence, staring at her. Neither of them knew what to say to that.

"And, you all probably think I'm crazy now, that I'm not happy with all this, but-" She was cut off, her voice muffled by the sudden influx of hugs from her three best friends.

"We didn't know you were unhappy," Carlos said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Yeah," Jay echoed. "You can tell us anything!"

"You guys were all happy! I didn't want to ruin it for you, just cause I'm not," Mal cried.

"But, we would've been able to help you, M, if you'd said something earlier!" Evie murmured, chastising her gently. "We're always here to help you. That's what family's for, right boys?"

"Yeah!" They both replied.

"There's something else," Mal started.

They all looked up at her.

"I don't love Ben anymore," she admitted. "I don't know if I actually ever loved him. I don't think he actually knows who I am. He's in love with the Auradon princess that the whole world seems to love, not me. He doesn't want to know me. He's happy with me having to pretend to be someone I'm not!"

"Well, we'll deal with that later, honey," Evie said, giving both boys a stern look, each of whom looked like they had lots to say. "You need to get some sleep for now, alright? We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, together, okay?"

She got Mal settled in her bed, and led the boys quietly out of the dorm.

"We have to keep a closer eye on her now, guys," Evie said, glancing at both of them. "She's been unhappy for this long, and we, her best friends, didn't notice!"

"We knew she was acting differently," said Jay. "Just not why, I guess."

"We'll look after her better from now on, okay?" Evie said, as more of a command than a question.

"Agreed," both boys said, immediately.

"I think this whole, outburst, we'll call it, was brought on by something else, though. Well, someone else."

"What do you mean, E?" Asked Carlos

"She's been saying a certain name in her sleep. I think it's to do with the new Isle kids that are coming over. One, in particular."

"Who?" The boys asked, simultaneously.

She stared both of them dead in the eyes.

"Harry Hook."

 **...**

 **A/N - Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review to let me know what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Hey Guys! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! If you like it, please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 5**

 **...**

Harry sat in the corner of Ursula's Fish and Chip Shoppe, glaring at everyone. The murderous expression on his face was there for no different reason than any of the other times it had been there; Mal. More specifically, his missing of her. He had been sitting for the past forty-five minutes, waiting for all of the other people in the Shoppe to leave, so he could watch her on the crappy, old television in the corner of the room. It wasn't great, but it was all he had. He couldn't bear waiting any longer. He stood up, and strode over to the last couple in the restaurant, brandishing his hook, the silver of it gleaming menacingly in the light.

"You're finished. You were finished twenty goddamn minutes ago! Go and gossip somewhere else!" He yelled, grinning as the couple cowered in fright.

Harry stormed off, back to where he was sitting previously, and watched as they both scarpered out of the Shoppe, very quickly. He sauntered over and locked the door, then reached up, and used his hook to pull the shutters down. Then, he walked over to the counter, leant over it, and grabbed the TV control from the shelf underneath, then sat down on a table in the middle of the room, and found the recording that he wanted. As he clicked it, sickeningly sweet music filled the air, followed by his loud groan, and quick fast-forwarding of the tape. He caught a glimpse of Mal, and pressed play again, but she was gone as quickly as she appeared.

"So, Princess Audrey, who are you wearing tonight?" He heard the reporter ask.

"I have no interest in who the bratty little bitch is wearing," he muttered to himself.

"Tonight, the beautiful gown I am wearing was designed by Evie," Audrey replied, smiling sweetly at the camera.

"Just like every other dress here tonight, then," the reporter laughed. Audrey huffed.

"Well, mine is very different, and far better-"

"Yes, thank you," the reporter said, hurrying her along. Harry laughed at the Princess's shocked face as she was moved off the red carpet and off camera.

"And, now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, here comes Mal, Lady of the Court!" The reporter cried, a huge smile on her face.

As Mal walked forward and came into view on the screen, Harry's entire face lit up.

"Gods, she is beautiful," he murmured, grinning up at the screen.

"So, Lady Mal," the reporter started.

Harry tuned out, as he had no interest in listening to all of the pointless questions the annoying reporter would ask anyway, and he could tell Mal had no interest in answering them either. Suddenly, something caught his attention.

'So, Mal, before you go, one more question,' the reporter said, giving the camera a quick, most definitely fake, smile.

"Of course," Mal replied, a fake smile plastered on her face as well.

"Why hasn't anyone realised she's unhappy?" He thought to himself. "It's getting a bit obvious at this stage, although then again, maybe I just know her really well," he thought, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Then, the reporter started speaking again. "Give us the gossip; how are things going with you and King Ben?"

Mal's smile faltered, and fell from her face. A look of sadness flashed over face, and was gone again before anyone had time to notice, but Harry did.

"Ben and I, we are, we are just, fabulous," she pushed out through gritted teeth. Then, Evie came up behind her, and looped her arm through Mal's. A look of pure relief was evident on Mal's face.

"Talking of fabulous," Evie started, "What do you think of all my dresses tonight?" She grinned, and then all the talk was purely back to fashion, and Harry tuned out once again, satisfied to simply watch Mal, however, not happily.

He noticed all the small details about her.. the way her under-eyes were still slightly red and puffy, her actual eyes, still slightly bloodshot, her smile, a fake smile, that even at that was still somewhat droopy. Her body, which had always been slim, had lost weight.

He noticed the tiniest amount of purple at her scalp, where her purple hair was starting to grow again. He noticed her chipped nail varnish, and lopsided nails, proof she had been biting them, a nervous habit of hers.

Then, he noticed the colours. The colours were all wrong. Her hair, firstly, was blonde. "So not Mal," he muttered to himself.

Her nails, and makeup were all pink. "Definitely not Mal," he muttered.

Then, and quite possibly, worst of all, was her dress. It was cream, with a pale pink and purple patterned layer over the skirt, made of lace. "Definitely, positively, absolutely not Mal,' he muttered, the anger beginning to course through his veins.

This wasn't his Mal, none of it was. They were forcing her, changing her into something she wasn't, and Harry, for the life of him, could not understand why. "She was perfect the way she was," he murmured. "Why are they makin' her change, when the lass is unhappy, and why hasn't anyone noticed yet!" He yelled, the pirate in him becoming more and more visible. "She's unhappy," he whispered sadly. He knew that Evie knew. He saw the girl rubbing small, comforting circles on Mal's elbow, her hand firmly intertwined with Mal's, and knew that Mal was in good hands.

"Only for another wee bit longer, ma dragon," he muttered. "I'll be there to help soon." He watched as Mal and Evie left the screen, and then turned it off, jumping up. "I swear to god, I'll kill whatever's hurt her!" He yelled. "I'll kill it!" Then, Harry felt something that he hadn't felt since the day Mal left. Something he swore he'd never do again. Something that if anyone else caught it, he'd be the laughingstock of the entire isle. Harry Hook felt a tear run down his cheek.

 **...**

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Now, quick question; Would anyone hate me if I made Ben a bit of a baddie further on in the story? Leave a review, and let me know what you think, and what you thought about the chapter!**

 **Thanks for reading! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Now, quick question; Would anyone hate me if I made Ben a bit of a baddie further on in the story? Leave a review, and let me know what you think, and what you think about the chapter!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 6**

 **...**

Mal burst into the dorm room, Evie quick to follow.

"That was torture!" She cried, ripping off the ridiculous dress she had been forced to wear, and rushed into the bathroom, and scrubbed off all of the pink makeup that had been applied that morning. She threw a pair of sweatpants and one of Jay's hoodies, and then sat down on the bed. Evie reached over to her friend and pulled her into a hug.

"E, I hated that," Mal muttered.

Evie stroked Mal's hair. "I know, honey, I know."

"None of this is me anymore," she said. "I mean, none of it really ever was, but this is just too far now. And, and they were all asking about Ben, and and, I can't do this anymore!" Mal exclaimed, the tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

Evie sat quietly, hugging the sobbing girl. "Mal, when was the last time you were properly happy? I mean, there's probably been little moments here where you've been happy, but when was the last time you were really, truly, happy? Without it only lasting for a few minutes?"

Mal thought about it for a moment, her mind drifting back to times on the Isle, with Harry.

"Harry," she admitted. "When I was with Harry. And I didn't have to worry about what people thought about me, cause I had you guys, and you always love me," she said, grinning, "and I had Harry, and he never tried to change me. He liked- no, he loved me for me. And I, I loved him. Love him. Present tense," she smirked.

"Well," Evie started, storing that information away, to be brought up at a later time. "Do you think that you'll feel that way again when Harry gets here? It's only a week away, honey," she said, smiling at Mal.

"I don't know, E," Mal replied. "I still can't be me, you know? I'm still a Lady of the Court, and I'm still technically Ben's girlfriend, so, people still expect things from me! I can't go back to purple hair and leather and magic, just because he's back. I think I need to sort out Ben and I first."

"Hmm," Evie sighed, agreeing with her. "And how, exactly are we going to do that?" She asked.

"I really don't know,," Mal admitted, the tears beginning to stream down her face again. "He's gonna hate me," she cried.

"Well, are you going to break up with him?" Evie asked.

"I guess," Mal answered, shrugging her shoulders. "This is gonna end so badly," she muttered. Then, she stood up, and walked towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna shower, ok?" She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, go ahead," Evie replied, the thoughts running through her head at a million miles an hour. "She needs to talk to him," she thought to herself. "But how the hell do we get a message across to the Isle?" Suddenly it clicked.

She got up and knocked on the bathroom door. She could hear the water running, and Mal's quiet humming. She grinned, realising it was 'A Pirates' Life for Me', the song that Harry was always singing on his ship.

"Mal," she called through the door.

"Yeah?" Came the muffled reply.

"I'm gonna go see Doug, I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"K. Tell him I said hi," she heard through the door.

"Will do!"

And with that, she ran out the door to find Doug.

 **...**

Evie rushed into the study, and immediately sought out Doug.

"Doug!" She exclaimed.

"Ahem!"

Evie glanced over into the corner of the room, and blushed.

"Sorry, Sir. Can I borrow Doug, please? It's important."

The teacher nodded his head, and waved at Doug to go.

The pair left the study hall quickly.

"Why are you studying when there's still two weeks of summer left?" Evie giggled.

"So I can beat you in the start of term science test," he replied, smiling at her. "What's up?"

"Ah, yes. I need your help. Let's go somewhere private," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him along after her.

The pair strolled through the rose gardens for a few minutes, then found a bench in a relatively secluded area. They both sat down.

"I love roses," Evie sighed, taking a deep breath in through her nose, allowing the scent to relax her.

Doug smiled, watching her. He cleared his throat. "So, what d'ya need me for?"

"Do you remember when I first got here, and Fairy Godmother organised a 'special treat' for us? And we got to talk to our parents? You helped set that up, didn't you?"

"Yes," He said, watching her apprehensively. "Why?"

"Hypothetically," Evie started, "If you had to do that again, could you?"

"Hypothetically, yes, I suppose so, but I'd need someone to cast a spell, to start the connection between Auradon and the Isle," he answered.

"Ok, and could anyone with magic cast this spell, or would it 'have' to be Fairy Godmother?" She asked.

"Why? What are you up to, Evie?"

"I want to help Mal," she answered bluntly. "She needs this, Doug. She needs to talk to Harry. Can you help me do it?" she pleaded.

Doug sighed. "You know we'll get into major trouble if we're caught, don't you?"

"Yes, but it's worth it for Mal. And besides, we won't get caught!" She said, grinning.

"I like your optimism," he smiled. "Yes, you could cast the spell, and you'll need to use two items with a reflective surface, seeing we can't use the special TV again."

"Well that shouldn't be too hard! I have my magic mirror, and Harry has, he has a pendant that Mal gave him before she left, and he promised her he'd never take it off, so, if he still has it, that will work, right?"

"Yeah, that should do it," Doug nodded.

"Okay, so do you think you can help me set up?" Evie asked him, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh alright," he sighed, smiling at her.

Evie stood up and dragged him along with her, heading back towards the building to begin preparations.

"You were always gonna help me, weren't you?" She said, smirking at him.

"No!" Doug scoffed.

Evie turned and faced him. "Really?"

"No," he admitted, smiling at her. "Of course I was going to help."

Evie and Doug worked solidly for forty-five minutes and then began to make their way up to Mal and Evie's dorm. Evie stopped outside the door.

"Thank you for helping me, Doug," Evie whispered, then gave him a light kiss.

"Anytime," he answered her softly. "When are you going to do it?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to try and get Harry the message first, so probably tonight, or tomorrow," she replied. "Anyway, I have to go," she said, turning towards the door.

"Will you be at dinner?"

"I'll try," she said. "See ya."

And with that, she entered the dorm, and closed the door.

 **...**

 **A/N - Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you thought, they make me write faster! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this new chapter! Leave a review and let me know what you think once you've read it! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 7**

 **...**

As Evie closed the door behind her, she didn't hear anything from Mal, like she usually would when she entered the room. She glanced around the room, noticing the balcony door was lying open, and a soft breeze was blowing through the room. She walked over to the balcony, knowing that Mal would've out there, watching the sea.

"Mal?" She called. "What you doing?"

"Just sitting," she heard the reply.

"Okay," she said, setting her handbag down on the dressing table, checking that her magic mirror was definitely there. "Can you come in here a sec, M?"

"Yeah, sure," Mal muttered, gathering up her things, and waking back into the dorm. "What's up?"

"Come sit," Evie grinned.

"What are you up to, E?" Mal said, looking at her suspiciously.

"Nothing, shush, you'll love it, I promise, sit!" Evie exclaimed, smiling at her.

Mal sat down at the dressing table, eyeing Evie.

"So. I had this idea, right?" Evie started.

"Okay…"

"I thought, now, hear me out, that if you could talk to Harry before he gets here next week, that it might help you decide what to do, and maybe make you feel a bit happier again?" She trailed off.

"Evie," Mal gasped. "What did you do?"

Evie blushed. "I kinda, maybe, mighta got Doug to help me help you to be able to talk to Harry?" She smiled.

"I don't understand," Mal said, laughing. "How can I talk to Harry? He's on the Isle, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but, you remember when we first came here, and Fairy Godmother gave us our 'special treat', and we got to talk to our parents?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I kinda did the same thing, but with my magic mirror," Evie told her.

"And, what, I can talk to him?"

"YES!" Evie exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Well, not right now, but once we send him a message, yeah. Are you happy?"

"I, I think so," Mal grinned.

"You think so?" Evie asked, sitting down beside her.

"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" She whispered.

"Mal! Of course he will," Evie reassured her. "He loves you, remember?" She said softly.

"But I don't know if he still loves me," she said, staring down into her lap.

Evie stared at her in shocked silence.

"Mal, I am your best friend, aren't I?"

Mal looked up. "Of course, E."

"Then you have to believe me when I say that Harry Hook definitely loves you. Anyone could see it back on the Isle, and I seriously doubt that he's stopped, okay?" Evie studied her for a moment. "Hey," she said softly. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to, M."

"No, I, I want to, I'm just, wow, kinda, shocked, you know?"

Evie grinned. "Well then, let's do it!" She exclaimed.

Harry was walking along the pier, smirking inwardly at the fact that everyone cleared out of the way, making a clear path for him to walk down.

"What the-?" He cursed, grabbing at his chest, feeling a strange tingling sensation. He glanced down, and lifted the small, purple pendant off his chest, holding it at eye level, staring at it.

"Mal," he murmured, clutching at it frantically, as a faint image of her grew clearer and clearer.

"Harry?" He heard her call. "Can you hear me?"

"Aye, love, I can hear ya," handling the pendant curiously. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can," she laughed.

"How, exactly, is this possible?" He asked.

"I'm not really sure, either, to be honest. Evie did it for me, so I could see you," Mal said, smiling.

"Wow. Well, I will have to thank her next week," he grinned.

"Next week," Mal murmured. "That's soon, Harry. Really soon."

"Aye, it is," he replied, searching frantically for somewhere quiet to sit. "Are you nervous, Mal?"

"About what?" She said, trying to play it off.

"About me," he said smirking.

"No," she replied, grinning. "It's you who should be nervous, Pirate, I've gotten really, really good at magic while I've been gone."

"Thought you weren't allowed to use magic in Boreadon?"

"I'm not. I'm also not supposed to be talking to you, and yet, here we are," she said, smiling.

Harry went quiet for a moment, debating with himself over whether or not to bring it up. "Mal," he started. "You haven't been yourself lately, have ya love?"

Mal stopped, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, ya haven't been Mal for a while have now, have you?

"Well, no," Mal admitted softly, and Harry began to hate himself as a tear began to run down her cheek.

"Don't cry, love," he muttered.

"I miss you, Harry," Mal choked out. "You're right, I'm not myself. I'm not me," she scoffed.

"And what are ya gonna do it about it?" He said, taunting her, but not cruelly. He had to push through to her.

"I'm gonna do exactly what I want. Eventually. I can't do anything yet, not until I sort out Ben and I."

"Ah yes, how is the King of Boreadon doing?"

Mal grinned. "He's fine," she said, not letting anymore information leave her lips.

"Ya know, a little birdie told me that there might be some trouble in paradise, hmm?"

"Well, a little birdie told me that that was a certain pirates fault," she smirked.

"Oh really? And what did this pirate do?"

Mal smiled sadly. "He loved me."

Harry sucked in a breath. "He still loves you," he said, staring Mal dead in the eye. "Trust me."

"I do trust you, Harry."

Just then, the pendant and the mirror began to glow, brighter and brighter, simultaneously.

"I think that means time's up," Mal sighed.

"Aye, but not for long, Mal," Harry replied, trying to keep her happy.

"I know. One more week."

"One week. And then we'll sort everything out. The King, us, you, all of it. It'll be me and you against the world again, love."

"I can't wait."

"Neither can I. Everything will turn out fine, ma wee dragon."

And with that, both images faded away.

"One week," Harry murmured. "And I'll get ya back to normal."

 **...**

 **A/N - Sorry for the long wait for this new chapter! I got back from a conference in Spain on Monday, and I've been absolutely exhausted this week (1 in the morning flight :/ ) , and still have a lot of work to do (getting ready for my exams), but I'll try to get back to relatively regular uploads. Thanks for reading! If you liked it, leave a review and tell me what you thought! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - Hey guys! I just want to say thank you all so much - 2000 views! I am so sorry that this chapter has taken so long, it's been a crazy month, but I will try my very hardest to start updating regularly again. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! If you do, leave a review and let me know what you think! If you have any ideas or things that you want to happen in this story, particularly now that Harry will be more prominent, let me know and I might include them! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 8**

 **...**

 **Mal**

It was finally time. Today was the day when Harry and Gil would get here. Mal awoke early, very very early. It was still summer break, and would be for another three weeks, so everyone usually got up and started the day around ten o'clock, but Mal was awake from six o'clock. She sat up in her bed, pulling the duvet up around her, trapping in the warmth. She glanced at the bed on the other side of the room, and saw Evie's blue hair splayed out across her pillow; she was still asleep. Mal sighed in relief. She loved Evie, but she didn't want to be disturbed right now. She just needed some time to herself. She threw off the covers and stood up, and walked over to the balcony, slipping outside quietly. As she leant against the railing, she embraced the cool breeze, allowing it to pass over her. The thought raced through her head, at a million miles an hour. Today was the day. The day she would finally see Harry again. She would have a few, precious hours with him before everyone else would join them. And by god, she was nervous. Nervous to see him again, nervous about Ben, nervous about one hundred things, but she knew that she couldn't wait to see Harry. Her pirate.

She watched the waves crashing against the rocks on the beach, not too far from the school. If she strained her ears, she could hear them, the sound soft to her ears. She had lain awake at night many times before, listening to them. They reminded her of Harry. She had also snuck off down to them on many a hot summer's night, when everyone else was asleep. She would sit on the sand, and watch as they moved in and out, the sound often lulling her to sleep.

As she stood out on the balcony, a wave of calm washed over her. She knew that there were lots of problems that she had to solve, but she also knew that her friends, and Harry would help her with them. She had to sort out herself, and get who she was back on track, she had to work out what she was going to do about Ben, and she had to work out what she was going to do about Harry.

"I have to work out what do with with Ben," she thought to herself nervously.

 **...**

 **Harry**

Harry sauntered down to the docks. There was practically no one else around, everyone was still asleep. As he walked, he let his thoughts run wild. The car would be there for Gil and him in five hours; at 11 o'clock. He'd be in Auradon and with Mal by 12.

He missed her. He couldn't wait to see her again, and he knew she was the same, although she was decidedly more nervous than he. He understood why though, she had a lot to sort out, and he knew that he'd help her no matter what.

"She just has to sort out that blasted King," he thought to himself.

 **...**

 **Gil**

Gil woke up, stood up and stretched. Today was going to be the best day of his life. He was so excited. He finally got to go to school, something he'd always wanted to do, but he was never allowed. He wasn't even allowed to do typical Isle studies, everyone said he wasn't smart enough. But now, he'd get his chance. This was his fresh start. There was only one thing that could ruin it, though, and that thing was the unspoken 'thing' between Mal and Harry. If it went wrong, Harry would be absolute murder to live with, and Gil already knew that the two would be sharing a dorm.

"Harry better get his crap together with Mal," Gil murmured to himself, beginning to walk along the pier, off to find Harry.

 **...**

 **Evie**

Evie woke up, and stretched, yawning quietly. She took her satin sleep mask off, and placed it on her bedside table. She stood up gracefully, and glanced around the room. Mal wasn't there. Evie knew how terrified she was for today. She smiled. Seeing Harry would be good for Mal, no matter how scared she was. She walked towards the en suite bathroom, ready to start getting ready for the day. She knew that Mal would be down by the beach, where she always went when she was nervous. She took off her matching blue satin pyjamas and entered the shower, allowing the hot water to cascade down her back, the steam starting to cloud the room.

"I hope today goes well," she thought to herself. "Mal needs this."

 **...**

 **Ben**

Ben was up, and had been for a while, sorting through files and other 'Kingly' business in his office from early hours of the morning. He knew that the other VK's were arriving today, and he wanted to make sure that he would have his work finished by mealtime in the evening; he wanted to meet them. He knew that Mal in particular was friends with one of them, the pirate, and he wanted to get to know him. And the other one, of course, although, for the life of him, he couldn't remember anything about either of them.

"Right. This file next. Lumière!"

Everyone went about their business as normal. No one knew that the two villains that were arriving later that day would cause huge changes in Auradon.

 **...**

 **A/N - Thanks for reading! I know it's quite short, but it's all I have time for at the minute, and it's only a filler chapter, all the good stuff will be happening soon! I will, however try to have another chapter up within three days to make up for the long delay. (No promises!) I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, leave a review and let me know! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this new chapter, and if you do, please leave a review and let me know! They make me write faster! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 9**

 **...**

"Oh my God," Harry muttered, staring at the back of the limousine that had arrived to pick them up. It was sleek, and black, reflecting the light of the sun. He couldn't get over how clean and shiny it was. The chauffeur tapped his cautiously on the shoulder, and he whipped around on his heel.

"May I take your luggage, Sir?" He asked, glancing nervously at Harry's hook.

"Aye, if you're offering," Harry replied, handing over the luggage. The chauffeur took his bag and Gil's, and if he was surprised at how little luggage the two of them had, he certainly didn't let it show.

Harry flung open the door, and slid inside, Gil clambering in after him.

"Oooohh!" Gil exclaimed. "Candy!" He grabbed two huge handfuls from the plethora of sweets and chocolates that were displayed within the back of the car, shoving them into his mouth as fast as he could. Harry grinned, watching the chocolatey drool fall down his chin. Harry himself picked a toffee up from the selection, and unwrapped it deftly with his hook, placing it onto his tongue and relishing in the flavour.

The driver climbed into the front of the car, and started the engine.

"Woah!" Yelled Gil, clutching at Harry. "What's happening?"

"Calm down, mate," Harry grunted, shoving him off. "It's supposed to happen," he said. "I think," he muttered under his breath.

The driver rolled down the window between the front section of the car and the back.

"Magic!" Both boys exclaimed.

"Not magic," the driver replied, smiling. "Remote-controlled," he said, holding up the small remote. "Now then, my name is Gus, and I'm your chauffeur today. We shall be starting on our journey to Auradon. It shouldn't take too long, about forty-five minutes, okay? In the meantime, feel free to help yourself to any of the refreshments we have here, and put on whatever radio station or TV station you want," Gus said, smiling kindly. Then, he rolled the window back up, leaving the boys to their own devices.

Harry and Gil glanced up to where Gus had gestured to, and both their jaws dropped. In the corner of the roof or the car, was a TV, bigger than the only one they had ever seen; the one at the Chip Shoppe.

"Put Channel 1 on, now, Gil," Harry demanded, trying to grab the remote that Gil had already snatched up. As Gil pressed the button, the same reporter from last time he had watched this shite appeared on the screen, the same stupid, fake smile plastered to her face.

"Whad'ya wanna watch this for?" Gil asked, looking at his friend curiously.

"Ssshhh!" Harry said, digging him in the side.

Mal appeared on the screen, with Evie close behind her.

"Lady Mal!" The reporter practically screamed. "Boy, do we have a lot to discuss with you today. Now, I believe you are the one greeting the two new VK's today, and giving them their tour, correct?"

"Yes, I am," Mal replied, already looking slightly annoyed at the reporter's over-excited personality.

Gil watched as Harry's face lit up at the news. Harry noticed him, and coughed, quickly covering up.

"I thought we'd be met by the King, or some snooty Princess, or the Fairy twat at best, but we get Mal! One of our own," he said quickly, hiding his face.

"Uh-huh," Gil said, smirking at him. "You sure it hasn't got anything to do with the fact that you and a certain dragon have a history together, and she's gonna be the first one you see when you get out of this car?"

"No!" Harry scoffed. "And you'd be wise not to mention that once we get out of this car, got it? I don't want everyone knowing what her and me got up to on the Isle, and i can guarantee ya that no one in Auradon will know beside Evie, Jay and Carlos. So, if word gets out, I will personally tell every single student in the whole school that you sleep with a raggedy old teddy bear every night. Alright?"

"I wouldn't have told anyone anyway," Gil muttered, the tips of his ears turning pink.

Deep down, Harry knew that that was a low blow. It was the only thing that Gil had left of his family. His mother was dead, like Harry's, and his dad abandoned him. But, at that moment, Harry couldn't bring himself to care. He did NOT want people finding out about him and Mal until they sorted themselves out.

He tuned back into the interview that was still playing on the TV.

"So, Mal, are you scared?" The reporter asked, the fake smile still stuck to her face.

"Scared of what?" Mal replied, looking at her amusedly.

"The two pirates arriving today! I hear that they're some of the most ruthless people on the Isle!" The reporter said, clutching her hand to her heart for added effect.

"Hah!" Mal scoffed. "Harry? Fair enough. Not going to disagree with you there," she said, smiling. "But Gil?!" She exclaimed. "Not at all! He's the sweetest thing. Would not hurt a fly."

"Well, uh, then I guess we have nothing to fear then, right?"

"Oh, I didn't say that. Harry; you should fear him. He is ruthless, and you should be scared. But, I'll tell you a secret," she said grinning at the camera. "He's also a huge drama queen," she said, laughing, sticking her tongue out slightly at the camera.

"How dare she?!" He exclaimed in outrage. "She knows I'm watching," Harry said, smiling to himself.

"Well, I have to go, because the car is going to be here in about ten minutes, and I can't be late," Mal said, waving to the camera.

"Of course, Lady Mal. And since we aren't allowed onto the campus of Auradon Prep, we'll have to catch up with you later this week, to find out how it goes! Thank you for the interview!"

Mal left the camera's shot swiftly, and the reporter started talking to Evie about her new fashion line. Harry turned the TV off.

He sat thinking. "That was so different to the last interview. She seems better." As he pondered on this, he noticed Gil practically vibrating with excitement.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"We're nearly here!" Gil cried.

Harry rolled down the darkened out window, sticking his head out of it. Huge buildings passed him by, all old, and fancy. He let the breeze roll over his face, tasting a slight tinge of salt in it.

"We're not far from the sea!" He called in to Gil.

"Yeah, the school is pretty close to it. We're not allowed down onto the beach though, unless we go in supervised hours, during the day."

"We'll see about that," Harry muttered to himself.

As the car pulled in through the ornat gates of Auradon Prep, Harry and Gil gazed out in amazement as they took in the huge building. The car pulled up to the front of the school, and parked. A huge fountain, and tree sculptures were just outside. Gus exited the car quickly, and opened the door for the two boys. Then, he walked swiftly to the boot of the car, and took out the two small bags that contained all of their belongings, and handed them to them.

"It was a pleasure driving you today," he said to them, and with a quick bow, walked back around to the front of the car.

"Oh!" He called, turning back to them.

"There's someone waiting for you just up the path," he said, gesturing to the path that led up to the main entrance of the school.

"Mal," Harry murmured, and grabbed Gil by the sleeve, tugging him along.

They walked up the path, and saw a figure standing there, watching them with a smile on her face.

"Mal," Harry murmured again, a look of adoration on his face.

"Welcome to Auradon, boys," she called.

 **...**

 **A/N - Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and if you did, please leave a review and let me know! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - Hey guys! My first double figure chapter! Ta-da! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and if you do, leave a review and let me know! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 10**

 **...**

"Welcome to Auradon, boys," she called.

Harry sprinted up the path, dumping the small rucksack he had flung over his shoulder. He grabbed Mal, and lifted her up into his arms, spinning her round. She squealed with laughter, throwing her arms around Harry's neck, holding him tightly.

"I missed you," he murmured into her hair, setting her down gently.

"I missed you too," she replied, looking up at him. "Now," she said, pulling out of his grasp and giving Gil a quick hug too. "We have a tour to do. Come on," she called, spinning on her heel and entering the school.

Gil nudged Harry in the side, and pulled him back a bit, out of Mal's earshot.

"What?" Harry growled.

Gil only said one word, but it was enough to make Harry go red, and want to kill Gil.

"Whipped," Gil replied, and then walked back to Mal, who had stopped and was waiting for them.

As the three of them walked through the school, Harry couldn't not appreciate how pretty Mal was, even though her aesthetic was very different from the last time he had seen her. Her blonde hair was curled, and fell perfectly down her back in loose ringlets. She was wearing a pale turquoise dress that came to just above her knee, and pale pink heels. Mal glanced over at him, and caught him watching her, and smirked at him.

"Like what you see?" She whispered.

"Always, love," Harry replied, scratching his chin.

They began walking down a long corridor, and Mal stopped outside one of the doors, and went to take the key from her pocket.

Feeling at her sides, she hufffed. "Ugh. Dress. No pockets."

Then, she quickly scanned the rest of the corridor, and held her hand up to the door. A green smoke uncurled itself from her hand, and slid into the lock. A click sounded, and Mal pushed the door open, quickly turning to face the boys.

"You didn't see that, got it?" She said, blushing.

"That was incredible!" Gil exclaimed.

"Quiet!" Mal scolded him. "We're not allowed to do magic here. You can't say anything, okay?"

The boys both nodded their agreement.

"You couldn't do that on the Isle, could ya?" Harry asked, studying her.

"Well," Mal said, grinning up at him. "I've been practising."

"Course you have. In a place where magic isn't allowed, what's the best thing to do? Practise it," he replied, smirking at her.

"Seriously, Harry," Mal pleaded. 'You can't say anything. Evie doesn't even know."

"I won't, dragon, I promise," he answered, not allowing himself to show how shocked he was at that statement. "Evie doesn't know?" He thought to himself. "Gods, what have they done to you Mal?"

Meanwhile, Mal was leading Gil into the room she had opened, and Harry quickly followed them in. It was a huge room, bigger than anything that Gil and Harry had ever seen before. It was a bright cream colour, with blue accents along the walls and the skirting boards. There were two huge beds, with thick, soft duvets, and a mountain of soft, fluffy pillows. In the corner of the room, there was the door to the balcony. Harry and Gil stared in amazement as Mal opened the door and flung it open, allowing the fresh sea breeze to drift into the room. Harry and Gil followed her out and stood on the balcony beside her.

"I made sure you got a room with a view of the sea," Mal said, staring out at the waves.

"Thank you," Harry replied swallowing hard. All of a sudden a wave of homesickness washed over him.

As Mal walked back inside, the two boys followed her. She walked over to the other corner of the room and opened the door there, revealing the large en suite bathroom. There was a shower cube and a bath, a glistening toilet and a washbasin.

"That looks clean enough to drink out of," Gil laughed. "Not like on the Isle!"

"Nothing here is like anything on the Isle," Mal answered. "Except maybe where all the garbage is kept until collection day," she finished, cocking her head, laughing too.

She walked back out into the middle of the room.

"So, this is your dorm room. You live here now," she said, happily.

"This is for us?" Gil asked, his eyes wide in wonder.

"Yep!" Mal replied, giving him a smile. "Life here isn't like life on the Isle. Other people, they care about us here, so we don't have to live like we did before, okay?"

Gil nodded his head vigorously, then proceeded to stumble around dizzily for a moment.

Mal began to speak again. "So, leave your bags here, and follow me!"

The three of them left the dorm room, Mal quickly locking the door again with her magic.

"Come to my room, so we can get the key," she said, and opened a door marked 'stairwell'.

"So the girls' dorms are on the floor above you guys, so you'll know where to find me if you need me, and Carlos and Jay are in the room across the hall from you, so if you need anything, they're there too. Curfew is 11 while we're still off, and 9:30 once school starts again, and lights out is at 10:15.

"Curfew?" Harry repeated.

"It means you have to be in your room at that time," Mal supplied helpfully, stopping and leaning on the banister.

"Hah! Half nine! No bloody way!" Harry muttered.

"Well, I'll tell you a secret," Mal said, grinning. "There's this room, I'll take you there in a bit, that Jay, Carlos, Evie and I hang out in the evening once we're supposed to be in our dorms. You guys can hang with us there, if you want?" She asked, a hopeful look on her face.

"And this room," Harry said. "Do the teachers know about it?"

"Well, no, but," Mal answered, looking at her feet sheepishly. "What they don't know won't hurt them, right?"

"Right," Harry laughed. "Aye, we'll join you all there."

"Cool," Mal replied. "We normally meet their about 10, when school's on, and we meet at 11:30 during summer, so we'll do that tonight, okay? But because you don't know your way around yet, I'll come get you at 11:25, got it?"

"Sure. But why can't we just stay together and then all go as a group?"

"Boys and girls aren't allowed in each other's dorms," Mal answered. "So we have to sneak around, after everyone else is asleep."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Harry smirked.

Mal's face dropped, and she didn't answer.

"Shit," Harry muttered under his breath.

Gil noticed, and jumped to the rescue.

"Where do we get food, Mal?" He asked.

"There's a mini fridge with snacks in your room if you're peckish in the evenings, but we get our meals in the dining hall, which I'll take you to soon. It's in a separate building. This is the dorm block, the dining hall is its own building next door, and the school block is across the campus," she replied, her emotions quickly back under control. "It's nearly lunchtime, but we're not eating in the same place as everyone else today."

"How come?"

"Cause you're too scary to handle, Gil," Mal smiled, and Harry burst out laughing.

"Seriously though," she continued. "Everyone is scared of you guys, so Fairy Godmother decided that you're not actually going to meet other students, beside the others, until next week. It's my job to stay with you this entire week, until you get acquainted with everything. In fact, the only new people you're going to meet this week are the teachers, and Fairy Godmother," she finished. "Anyway, come on."

They climbed two flights of stairs, and Mal opened the door at the top of them.

"So this is the girls' floor, and you're not supposed to be here, and I'm not supposed to take you here, so we're not telling anyone, okay?"

They followed her halfway down the corridor, and Mal stopped, quickly checked the corridor, and let herself into her room, holding the door open for Gil and Harry.

She walked over to the vanity, and rummaged in the top drawer, pulling out two matching silver keys. She turned and handed one to Gil, and the other to Harry.

"These are for your room. And, here," she said, poking further into the drawer, pulling out another two keys, however these ones were smaller, anda dark golden colour. "These, are for the secret room, okay? You should keep them on you at all times, but keep them hidden too, so people don't ask you what they're for."

She grabbed her two keys, and went to put them into her pocket.

"Ugh!" She groaned. "Still don't have pockets. She walked over to the large, oak wardrobe on her side of the room. The two sides were easily distinguishable to both boys. One was meticulously clean and tidy and organised, with a large rack of dresses against one wall, a large pile of makeup and hair products on the vanity, and the bed had a dark, sapphire blue duvet and matching pillows, with a satin sleep mask with the word 'princess' written on it. On the other side, small heaps of clothes were splayed all over the floor, the vanity was practically empty bar a few bottles of nail varnish and a few lipsticks, and the bed had a dark purple duvet, with bright green, fluorescent pillows. Yes, the two sides were so easily distinguishable, it was almost funny.

Mal pulled out a pair of sweatpants from one of the drawers of the wardrobe, a t-shirt, and an 'Auradon Tourney' sweatshirt. At Harry's raised eyebrow, she answered, "It's Jay's. I stole it."

"Ah," he answered. "Thought it was a bit big for ya."

"Wait here," Mal muttered, and went into the bathroom.

As she got changed, Harry took a glance around the room. There was a wall near the door to the bathroom, completely covered in drawings, that had been ripped out of a sketchbook and stuck up. However, in comparison to Evie's sketches for dresses on her wall, these were very different. There were drawings of the sea, of buildings, of Maleficent's castle, of the Chip Shoppe, of the hideout, of the view of the Isle from Auradon, of Evie, Jay, Carlos, and there was even a drawing of Harry.

"These are amazing," he murmured, tracing a finger along his impeccable jawline in the drawing.

Just then, Mal came out from the bathroom, her blonde hair flung up into a messy ponytail, and her stolen hoodie's arms rolled right up, the bottom of it coming to just above her knee.

"Come on," she said, pulling both boys out of the room. "I'm hungry. Let's get lunch."

 **...**

 **A/N - Wow! This was a long chapter! Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you liked it, leave a review and let me know! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N - Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 11**

 **...**

"Come on," she said, pulling both boys out of the room. "I'm hungry. Let's get lunch."

The boys followed her downstairs, right down to the lobby of the dorm block. It was massive, with fireplaces around the walls, and sofas and armchairs around them. There was a huge, glistening chandelier above head, and there was an information desk against the back wall. Beside it, there were elevators, and the stairwell, that Mal, Gil and Harry had just come out of.

"There's no one ever there," Mal said, gesturing to the desk. "So if you need anything, come find me."

They exited the dorm block, and Mal led them down the path they had entered with, and out onto the campus. They walked on the main path for a few moments, then she led them up the path there. They entered the building, and Harry and Gil's jaws dropped in amazement.

As they walked in, the scent of food assaulted their nostrils. They gazed in wonder around the huge canteen. There were hundreds of different types of food. Curries, chips, fish, salads, chicken, sandwiches, pasta; everywhere the boys looked there was something new. Mal stepped back and let them enjoy it.

"Come on," She called, walking towards one of the stands. "I promise you'll love this."

She began speaking to the server at the stand. "Can we have three cheeseburgers, and two large chips, please?"

"Of course," the server replied politely, and set to organising their food. "What drinks would you like?"

"Ooh, one banana milkshake, one chocolate milkshake, and one strawberry milkshake!"

The server laughed. "I can guess which one is for you, Lady Mal. You always order strawberry!"

Mal grinned. "Because it's the best!"

The server handed over the large bag of food, and each of them thanked her. Then, they left the building.

"That was magnificent!" Harry and Gil said, awestruck. "How is there that much food?"

"That's only for lunch guys," Mal said. "There's different food for breakfast, and dinner."

"Ya get three meals?"

"Yep. And you get as much as you can eat," she smiled. "You'll never be hungry again, trust me!"

"Where are we gonna eat?" Asked Gil.

"Well, lunch starts in 10 minutes, and everyone eats in the canteen. So, we essentially have the rest of campus to choose from."

"Can we eat at the beach?" Harry questioned, looking at Mal.

"I would, Harry, but we're not allowed," she answered, watching him closely.

"Awk, come on," he muttered. "If everyone else is in that building of heaven, and then back to whatever, can't we? No one would know!" He said, pleading with her.

Mal glanced around in frustration. "We can't, Harry," she murmured. "I promise you, sometime this week, I will help you sneak off and we can go to the beach, but not today, okay?"

"Fine," he huffed, and fell behind her, trudging along.

"Come on," She said, walking back to him and linking her arm through his. "You didn't come all this way to be grumpy, right? You did enough of that on the Isle," she smirked.

Harry stopped and stood still, staring at her in mock outrage. "You take that back, missy," he threatened. "You take that back right now."

"No," Mal said, grinning up at him. "Gil, take the bag," she said, and handed over their precious cargo.

"Come get me, Pirate," Mal said, and took off like a bat out of hell, racing through the gardens.

Harry sprinted after her, used to playing this game on the Isle. They weaved in and out of bushes and trees, leaping over the small streams that encircled the gardens. Mal was quick, but Harry was quicker. His long, red coat tails flew behind him as he ran, his hook glinting in the sunlight. Mal sped up, seeing her destination getting closer and closer. But Harry sped up too, getting faster and faster. Then, he caught her, and pulled her backwards. The two of them went tumbling to the ground, and Harry landed on top of her. She grinned up at him, watching him closely. He held himself up above her, the muscles in his arms bulging.

"Guys," Gil yelled, panting. "You - need - to - slow - down!"

Harry jumped off of Mal as though she had burnt him, then extended his hand to help her up. She walked forward, leaving the two to follow her. She sat down in the long grass, near one of the larger streams. She patted the two spots on either side of her, and the boys sat down. Gil handed the bag back to her.

"Now," Mal said, a huge smile on her face. "Are you ready for…. The Cheeseburger!"

Harry and Gil watched as she unwrapped the burgers, the smell of them already making their mouths water.

"Oh my God," Harry muttered, as she lifted them out, and handed one to him, and one to Gil.

"So you eat it like this-"

She was interrupted by Gil's moans of delight. He seemed to have no problem with working out how to bite into it, and he seemed to enjoy it.

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted, Mal," he said, through mouthfuls of meat.

Then, Harry took his first bite. "Oh my God," He moaned. "He's right. This is the best thing ever."

Mal laughed at the two of them, and took a huge bite of her own burger. Then, she took out the chips.

"Are you ready to see what chips are actually supposed to taste like, instead of the crap that you get at the Chip Shoppe?"

"Yes!" Both boys cried, still wrapped up in food heaven.

Mal offered the bag to them, and they both shoved a handful into their mouths.

"Oh my God," they both muttered simultaneously.

"You are an angel, Mal," Harry said.

"Hah! Wait until you try pizza," she answered, smiling.

"Pizza?" Gil asked.

"It's like this soft, bread thing, with cheese and tomato sauce, and whatever else you want on it," she explained.

"Can we have it?"

"I can run and get one if you want?"

"Please!" Gil cried.

"Okay," Mal laughed. "You need to stay here, both of you, okay? Lunch has started, so people will be walking about to get the canteen, so you have to stay here. Got it?"

Both boys nodded, their mouths already stuffed with food again. Mal walked off, glancing back at them a few times.

She walked back into the dining hall, and sought out Evie, Jay and Carlos, who were sitting with Doug, Lonnie and Jane.

"Hey guys," she said, leaning on the back of Jay's chair. "Can I borrow these three for a sec?"

Each of them nodded their agreement, and Mal led the VK's away from the table.

"So," Jay started, "How's it going so far?"

"Pretty good," Mal answered. "They seem to really like it."

"Well they would, after living on the Isle all their life," Evie cut in.

"That's true," agreed Carlos.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive, and you're probably not going to see much of me this week. I have to keep these two separate from the rest of the school, but they're going to come to our hangout tonight, okay? Let them meet you again, and all that."

"Sure."

"Cool."

"No problem."

"So, I have to go get a pizza for Gil, but I will see you tonight at 11:15!" And with that, she left.

Evie, Jay and Carlos sat back down at their table.

"What was that about?" Lonnie asked. "Was it about the new kids?"

"Chill, Lon," said Jay, chuckling at the girl's overexcited attitude.

"Yes, it was," answered Evie. "Mal says that they like it here."

"That's good," replied Doug, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Are they, you know," asked Jane. "Dangerous?"

The VK's looked at each other. Then, Evie spoke.

"Jane, do you think Mal is dangerous?"

"No!"

"Then, no," Evie answered. "Harry can be dangerous, but Mal's will keep him under control. And Gil, he's a sweetheart."

"Okay," Jane said, still looking quite unsure. Carlos jumped in.

"Sure, if anyone tries to hurt you," he said, flinging an arm around her shoulder, "I'll-"

"You'll what?!" Scoffed Jay.

"Get you to do something," Carlos muttered, and everyone laughed.

 **...**

Meanwhile, Mal had retrieved her pizza, and was making her way back to the gardens she had left Harry and Gil in. As she was nearing it, she could hear raised voices, and started to speed up.

Then, suddenly, there was a scream.

 **...**

 **A/N - Dun dun duunnn! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, leave a review and let me know! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - Hey guys! Here's another chapter! I've written three today! Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 12**

 **...**

Mal sprinted the last few yards, coming into the clearing that she had left the boys in. She could hear hysterical crying, choked laughing, and it did nothing for her nerves. When she entered the scene, however, she could do nothing other than laugh.

Gil was rolling about the floor laughing, Harry was standing looking very proud of himself, and Audrey was standing opposite him, with strawberry milkshake all over her. The pink liquid was running all over her hair, and her dress, and a small pool of it was gathering at her feet.

"He-he tried to kill me!" Audrey exclaimed, panting.

"I did not!" Harry yelled. "This bratty little bitch was forcing herself onto me, and I told her to bugger off, so she started to squeal, so I threw a milkshake on her!"

Mal stared at Harry, trying hard not to smile.

"Harry Hook!" Mal yelled, and Harry jumped.

"Harry Hook, you mean to tell me that you threw an entire strawberry milkshake over Audrey?"

"Yes, love," he answered, looking sheepishly at his feet.

"I cannot believe," Mal started.

Audrey smirked, enjoying him being shouted at.

"-That you wasted a perfectly good strawberry milkshake on that bitch!" She exclaimed.

Harry relaxed, and grinned, but the smirk fell from Audrey's face.

"What?" She asked, her voice faltering. "Mal, you're supposed to shout at him! He tried to kill me!"

"Audrey, he threw MY," She said, glaring at him. "Milkshake over your head. He did not try to kill you. Now buzz off, and leave us alone."

"I'm telling Fairy Godmother. She'll have the whole lot of you shipped back to the Isle in no time!"

For a moment, Mal panicked.

"You say one thing about this to anyone and I'll tell the entire school what you and Chad did last Friday," Mal retaliated.

"You- You- Ugh!" Audrey huffed, and stormed off.

Mal, Gil and Harry burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you did that," Mal said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "She's going to hate you forever."

"Aye, I couldn't care less."

"You'll care if you're partnered with her in a subject!"

"What?! No bloody way that's happening. You can be my partner."

Mal smiled at him, and said no more. Then Gil spoke up.

"Did you bring the pizza, Mal?" He asked hopefully.

"I did!"

The three of them sat down to enjoy it, and Mal handed out the other two milkshakes.

"Mmmm, this, I like," Harry said, sipping the banana milkshake.

Once they had finished their lunch, Mal took them to the school block, and showed them around. They saw the science labs, the computer suites, the cookery classrooms, and all the other regular classrooms too. They then visited the office, which was currently staffed by a nice old lady, who looked very, very anxious when she saw Harry's hook.

"Hey, can we get our timetables please?" Mal asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Timetables aren't handed out until three days before school starts. This is three weeks."

"Ok, but Fairy Godmother told us to get them, because I have to set up the new kids."

"I don't care."

Mal took a deep breath, trying not to throttle the woman.

"Ok, boys, we'll go get Fairy Godmother, and she can come and tell you herself."

Mal grabbed Gil and Harry and started to walk away from the desk, but Harry pulled her back.

"Wait!" He muttered.

Mal spun on her heel, glaring at him.

He walked over to the desk and set his hook on the table, the shiny metal glistening under the bright white lights.

"Give her the timetables."

The woman flinched, and quickly began typing, and printed off the timetables.

"Here," she huffed, waving the timetables at them.

"Thank you!" Mal answered sarcastically. "And while you're at it, give me Evie's, Jay's and Carlos', please."

The woman looked furious, but printed out the timetables and handed them over.

"Thanks," Mal called, strutting away from the office, Gil and Harry following behind.

Mal led the two of them back to their dorm, and sat down on the floor. They sat next to her and they compared the timetables. Mal glanced at their three first.

"Ok, I've got Mr Hopper as a form tutor, Harry you've got the same, and Gil you've got Miss Lucas. So," she said, leaning over and grabbing the other three timetables. "Harry, you're with me and - uh, Jay, and Gil, you are with Evie and Carlos."

"Nice!" Gil said, smiling.

"So, Harry we have all of our subjects together, and Gil, hand me that?"

She scanned his timetable quickly. "You'll be in our practical class, and so will Evie."

"That's a good class," Harry said.

"You do know that there will be other people, right?"

"Yeeessss," Harry answered sarcastically.

"Good," Mal smirked.

"So, what are we doing for the rest of the day?" He asked her.

"We can do whatever, I guess. We need to get you guys new clothes at some stage. Evie will sort that for you, so we'll check in with her later. And, I should probably show you how the showers work. And we should probably get you books and stationary for school. Ugh. I am not doing that again. You know what, we can get those later. Right. Showers. There's one in there," she said, gesturing to the bathroom, "and there's a block at then end of the corridor."

She stood up and took off her stolen hoodie, and shoes, then walked into the bathroom. She waited until they had gathered around the shower cubicle.

"So, we all found this difficult when we came here so I'll show you how to use it." She removed the shower head from its holder, and held it facing down the drain. "This knob," She said, turning it, and suddenly a stream of water came pulsing out, "turns it on. See, it has little waves drawn on it. This knob beside it," She said, turning it, "makes it hotter or colder."

"They have warm water?" Harry commented, shocked. He was used to just dunking in the sea when he needed a wash.

"Not just warm, they have hot," Mal said, grinning. "It is the best feeling ever, trust me. Now," she said, turning both knobs off. "You do it."

She handed the shower head to Gil, and he performed the task successfully, jumping at the warm water on his hand. Then, he handed it to Harry. Harry placed his hook on the shower cabinet, and stood at the door of the cubicle. He turned the water on, and made it warm, and stood, running his hand under it. Then, suddenly, he whipped around, and pointed it at Mal. She screamed from the sudden onslaught of water, and Harry laughed, turning around and turning the water off. Mal stood there like a drenched rat, water dripping down her face.

"I am going to kill you," she said clearly.

She glanced around the room, which was now soaked. There was a pool of water on the floor, and the mirror, sink and cabinet were all dripping wet.

"Oops," Harry grinned.

"Oops?" Mal repeated. She raised her hand, and stared at the space above Harry's head. Then, a rush of freezing cold water opened above him, and cascaded over him.

"Fuck!" He yelled, jumping up and down.

Mal and Gil burst out laughing, hi-fiving each other.

"Out," Mal ordered, pointing to the door.

She waited until they had both left the room, and held both hands up. The small room heated and heated, until steam was rising from all surfaces, and all the water evaporated. She quickly waved her hands over herself, and her hair and clothes dried too. Then, she sashayed out of the bathroom, pushing past the boys, who were staring at her in stupefied amazement.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Harry asked.

"Spellbook," she answered simply, smirking at the water dripping off him. "Maybe we should go see Evie now," she suggested. "You're going to need new clothes after that!"

 **...**

 **A/N - Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please leave a review and let me know! They make me write faster! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - Happy Easter Everyone! I hope you've all had a nice day! Anyway, here's a new chapter, and I hope you enjoy! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 13**

 **...**

A few hours had passed, and both boys had had their fittings with Evie, and the promise of new outfits before the start of school. It was close to dinner time now, and Mal, Harry and Gil were getting ready to sneak in and grab their dinner before everyone else. They had been relaxing in the boys new dorm for the past few hours, and had caught up on everything that had happened to each of them since the last time they were all together. Mal had actually enjoyed herself. Harry and her had been listening to Gil recount what had happened the last time he had spoken to Uma.

"And she- she" he wheezed, barely able to speak for laughing, "she called ME Shrimpy!"

The three of them burst out laughing, the tears running down their faces.

"Is she still mad about that stupid name!?" Mal giggled.

"Oh my god, love, you have no idea," chuckled Harry. "It's like the biggest grudge she's ever held against anyone! And her own mum once thought that she liked the nickname, AND CALLED HER IT FOR THREE WEEKS!"

And with that, the three of them were off again, rolling about the floor with laughter. Mal couldn't believe it. She hadn't actually had fun in a while, what with all the pressure that came with being a Lady of the Court and constantly having so much attention focused on her, and yet, here she was, having a great time with two of her oldest friends. However, her relaxation was short-lived.

RING! RING! RING!

Mal lunged for her phone, leaning over Gil to grab it off the bedside table. She answered it quickly, not checking to see who was calling her.

"Hello?" She answered, still breathless from the laughter.

"Mal?" Came the response. "Are you alright?"

"Ben?!"

Harry and Gil stopped laughing, and watched her.

"Yes, it's me. Are you alright?" He asked again.

"Uh, yes, Ben, I'm fine. How are you? What's up?"

HIC! HIC!

Mal jumped at the sudden loud noise, and turned round to the boys. Harry was once again crying tears of laughter. "He's- He's got the hiccups!" He choked out. "From laughing too hard!"

Mal shushed them, fighting back a grin.

HIC! HIC!

She heard Harry snort, trying to stay quiet, and tried hard not to burst out laughing as well.

"-so, what do you think?"

Mal panicked. She hadn't heard anything that ben had said.

"Sorry, what? It's really noisy here, I couldn't hear you."

HIC! HIC!

Harry sniggered, making Mal giggle.

"Mal!" Ben exclaimed, exasperated. "Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, yes, I am, Ben. What is it you want?"

"I was saying, I would like to have dinner with you tonight."

"I'd love to, but I'm on babysitting duty for the next three week, so," she trailed off.

"OI!" Harry whisper-yelled at her."We're not babies!"

HIC! HIC!

Mal stuck her tongue out at him.

Ben started talking in her ear again. "I know you are, I want you to bring them with you."

"That would be great, but Fairy Godmother gave me strict instructions to keep them away from everyone else."

Yes, but I've already spoken to her, and she thinks it would be a great idea, as long as you're there too."

"Um, I don't know, Ben, I'm really tired, and-"

"Mal, it seems like you're making excuses not to have dinner with me. I haven't seen you in a while, I just thought it would be nice, and-"

Mal pulled a face, running a hand through her hair.

"Fine. We'll meet you for dinner. But, Evie, Jay and Carlos get to come too."

"Fine. The more the merrier. I'll send a limousine for you all, around six? We'll have dinner at the half."

"Sounds good!" Mal answered, bringing a false sense of cheerfulness to her voice.

"Alright then. See you later," he finished, hanging up.

"Uggghhh!" Mal groaned, throwing her phone onto the bed, and throwing herself down with it. She lay face flat on the bed. Harry and Gil stood up, glancing at each other nervously.

HIC! HIC!

Harry gave him a pointed look. "Seriously, mate?"

Mal clicked her fingers, and a small tendril of green smoke made its way to Gil, and hovered over his chest, then disappeared. His hiccups ceased.

Both of the boys watched her.

"We have to meet Ben for dinner," she said, her voice muffled, answering their unspoken question.

"Right. And that's bad?" Gil prodded.

"Yes!" Came the muffled cry.

"Okay," Gil said, moving over and sitting on the edge of the bed. "And why's that?"

"Cause I don't know what to do with him."

"In what way?"

"I don't know," she answered, quickly.

"Harry, get out," Gil ordered.

"What!?" He cried. "I'm the captain! You don't give me orders! I give you orders! I should have you-"

Gil walked over to him. "Listen," He said quietly. "I'm going to try and talk to her, but I can't while you're here, okay? So please, can you leave?"

"Fine," Harry huffed, and left the room.

Gil sat back down on the bed. "Mal?"

"What?"

He took a deep breath. Mal still scared him, a lot, and he didn't even keep it a secret.

"You still like Harry, don't you?" He asked, praying she wouldn't murder him.

"You're gonna tell him," she responded, accusingly.

"I won't."

"How do I know?"

"Well, what would I get out of it? I already know he still loves you, so I just want to know if you still love him. He's my friend. I don't want him to get hurt."

"Yes," came the tiny, muffled voice.

Gil didn't need to ask what she was saying yes to. He knew exactly what she meant.

"So you're worried because you're going to be in the same room as Harry and Ben." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Do you love Ben?"

There was no hesitation in her answer. "No."

"Do you even like him?"

"I used to, I think. But he's changed. He keeps trying make me less me, if that makes sense," she said. "Does it?"

"Yep. So, you don't like Ben, but you do like Harry?"

"Pretty much," she sighed. "This is so messed up," she muttered.

"Why?" Gil asked curiously. "You like Harry, Harry likes you. Break up with Ben. It's simple."

"It's not simple, Gil. On the Isle, maybe, but here?" She scoffed. "I can't break up with Ben without starting a war."

Gil sat in silence, pondering all that she had said.

"You could pull a Louisa," he offered, slyly.

'Pulling a Louisa' was something that they had come up with on the Isle, when a friend of theirs, Leo, had gotten into a relationship with a Louisa, and she had become so clingy and annoying that he hated her, but he couldn't bring himself to break up with her, even though they were essentially broken up anyway. He started going out with someone else, but just 'forgot' to really finish it with Louisa.

Mal rolled over, staring at him. "Seriously?! You want me to cheat on the King?!"

"Well it's not really cheating, because you yourself said you aren't 'really' in a relationship with him. And, it's not even a full Louisa, cause Harry knows about Ben!"

Mal sat staring at him. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. "You're going to help me go out with Harry behind Ben's back?"

"Yep!"

"You shouldn't look so proud," Mal laughed. "Fairy Godmother would kill you if she knew you were doing this!"

"Yeah, but that's the point! No one will know!"

"Fine. I'll consider it. But I'm telling Evie, Jay and Carlos first. They get to help decide. And not right now either. We have to get ready for dinner." She stood up, and grabbed her phone and sweater. I'll go get ready, and text the others. You and Harry get ready and stay in here, okay? I'll come get you in a bit." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Shit!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"We have exactly 23 minutes before the limo gets here."

"Another limo!?"

Mal laughed. "Just get ready, fast."

She walked towards the door, her hand on the handle. She turned her head around to look at Gil.

"And thanks. I haven't really been able to talk with anyone."

"No problem," he answered, smiling at her.

She turned the handle, and let Harry into the room.

"Get ready, pirate," she commanded. "We have 23 minutes before we leave, alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, smirking at her, and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Mal leant against it, shooting the other three a quick text, telling them to get ready, and meet out the front, then set off for her room, thoughts rushing through her head at a million miles an hour.

 **...**

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! If you liked it, leave a review and let me know! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - Hey guys! Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and I would like to say a huge thank you to the person responsible for the idea for this chapter, "Blood Faerie .xx" , I really appreciate your help!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 14**

 **...**

Mal grabbed Harry and Gil and raced down the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. The three of them stopped outside the front gate, huffing and puffing, trying to get their breath back. Mal straightened up, and walked over to where Evie, Jay and Carlos were standing, watching on in amusement,

Mal walked past them, opening one of the doors of the limo. "Don't even ask," she muttered to them, climbing in and sitting at the far window.

"Wasn't gonna," Jay chuckled, turning round to greet Harry and Gil.

Evie smiled at them, walking forward to give them both a quick hug. "What have you done to annoy her already?" She asked, grinning at them. Gil took her to one side, walking slightly away from the group.

"She's nervous because Ben will be there, and so will Harry," he explained. "I'm presuming you know about this whole situation?"

Evie stared at him. "She told you that?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Evie grabbed Gil's arm. "Gil, she didn't even tell us until two weeks ago! How did you get her to tell you?!"

"I asked her," he answered, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Evie gawked at him. "But- but- how?!" She sputtered.

They heard a shout. It was Jay. "Come on you two, we're going to be late!"

Evie continued staring at Gil like he had three heads. As they moved toward the limo, she lowered her voice, as they were within hearing range from the rest of them.

"Does Harry know?" She asked him, a serious look on her face.

"No. But I think he knows that whatever they had on the Isle definitely isn't over. He doesn't know she still loves him, though."

"She told you that too?!"

Gil laughed, and followed her into the limo.

The seven of them sat in relative quiet for the most of the journey, the only conversation when Gil would ask what something was, and Evie would tell him.

They arrived at the castle quickly enough, and each of them climbed out of the limo. They made their way up to the front door of the castle.

"Woah," Harry muttered under his breath. Gil heard him, and threw an arm around his shoulders. Harry shrugged him off and glared at him.

"Just tryin' to help," Gil said, sighing, walking off to catch up with Carlos and Jay.

"You've gotta be nicer to him," a voice said, coming up behind him.

"He'll be fine," he answered, turning to look at Mal.

"But is that enough?" she questioned, smiling at him.

He made a face at her. She laughed, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mal," Evie called. "You should go in first," she said to her, gesturing to the door.

"Yep," Mal answered, walking to the front of the group.

Before she had even raised her hand to knock on the door, it swung open, revealing the majesty of the indoors.

"Lady Mal," Cogsworth greeted her, from behind the door.

"Cogsworth," she replied, smiling at him.

"And friends," he greeted the rest of them, as they walked in. "Ah. You must be our new guests," he said, as Harry and Gil walked in.

"Aye," Harry muttered, barely acknowledging him.

"Hello!" Gil greeted.

"Harry!" Evie scolded.

"What?"

"Be polite. He's just trying to be nice."

"Sorry, MUM," he snarked at her.

"What's stuck up your ass?" She asked him, smirking.

He glared at her.

"Hmm, let me think," she continued. "Could it be something to be with our sassy dragon friend over there?"

"Shut up."

Evie laughed. "Calm down, pirate. I'm only teasing. But, really though, it is because of her, right?"

Harry looked at her. "I ain't sayin' a word, princess."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"I didn't even say anything!"

"Didn't have to!" Evie answered, going over to whisper in Gil's ear.

Mal led the group to the main dining area, and stood just before the ornate door.

"Please behave, Harry," she said, without even turning around. "This is important." With that, she pushed open the door, and walked forward, stopping and scowling, barely two feet into the room.

Ben stood up from the table to greet her, and the rest of them.

"Mal, I-"

He was interrupted as she grabbed him by his suit and pulled him aside.

"What is Audrey doing here!?" She demanded, glaring at him.

"Mal, let me-"

"No! Why is she here, Ben?"

"My father wanted her here."

"Ugh!" Mal muttered, running her hands through her hair. "You know how I feel about her, Ben."

"I know, and I tried but-"

"You know what, i don't care," she said, glancing over to the table, where everyone else was sitting. There was a space left for her, next to Ben, at the head of the table, but it was directly across from Audrey. There was also a place next to Harry.

"Uh- Audrey laid out the table settings. I asked her to leave one next to me, for you," he said, trying to make things better.

"Uh-huh, and she also put herself next to you."

"Well, it's only right, she's a princess, Mal."

"So's Evie," Mal responded, looking pointedly at him. "Or does that not count because she's from the Isle?"

"No, of course it does, I just-"

"Save it."

She paused for a moment, contemplating what she could do. She could take her proper place, next to Ben, or, she could sit next to Harry, and completely ignore Ben and Audrey.

"Yep," she thought to herself. "Screw it."

She strutted over to the table and sat down next to Harry, leaning back in her chair.

Harry and Jay grinned at her, while Evie and Carlos gave her small, disapproving smiles. Gil just laughed.

"Uh, Mal?" They heard Audrey's high-pitched, annoying voice call. "You're supposed to be up here. Not next to him."

"Awk shut up!" Harry called up to her.

"Excuse me! I am a princess! How dare you talk to me like that!"

Ben walked past the table, giving Mal a small, sad smile. "Enough, Audrey," he rebuked her quietly.

"But he-"

"And rightly so. Mal can sit wherever she likes. We can't tell her what to do."

"But it's not right!"

"Audrey!" Ben spoke sharply this time. "Enough. Now," he said, addressing the table. "Dinner?"

"Yes!" Jay laughed, trying to ease the tension. "I'm starving!"

Ben clapped his hands, and dishes upon dishes of delicious food flew into the room,spreading themselves out across the huge table.

Once they were settled, Gil nearly leapt for the several that were placed in front of him. Audrey glared down the table at him, disapprovingly. Evie giggled, and placed a restraining hand on his chest. "One minute," she whispered to him, and turne to face Ben.

"Be my guest," Ben said, extending his hands over the table of food. They all began eatin, Gil letting out audible moans of delight at all of the food he had crammed into his mouth.

Harry turned to Mal, as everyone began to talk amongst themselves. "Well done, love," he murmured to her. "And what was that about ME behaving, hmm?"

Mal glanced to the top of the table, and found Ben's eyes watching her closely. She smiled at Harry. "Shut up, pirate," she said, poking him, "You're much better company, anyway," she smirked.

Ben caught her eye a few times over the rest of the evening. "I'm sorry," she mouthed up at him, nodding to Audrey.

"It's okay," he mouthed back, smiling at her.

Mal's insides turned. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said, and stood up from the table.

"I'll go with you," Evie said, standing up as well.

"How rude!" Audrey exclaimed loudly.

"Audrey!" Ben reprimanded. "They're fine."

"I never understood why girls do that," Jay muttered to Harry, Gil and Carlos. "It's like they think they think that there's monsters down the toilets or something, and they need backup!"

"Na," Harry said, after they had finished laughing. "It's definitely so they can go talk about us men."

They all bust out laughing again.

Evie followed Mal out of the dining room, and down the corridor to the toilets.

"So, what's up?" She said, turning to Mal, after closing the door tightly behind them.

"I have to break up with Ben," she announced. "Soon."

"Oh?" Evie said, watching her friend closely.

"He still thinks I love him, and I don't! It's not fair to him."

"So…" Evie started.

"What?" Mal asked.

"Does this mean we still love Harry?" Evie said, smiling.

Mal blushed, and stuck her head down, looking at the floor very intensely. "No."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"Don't you dare tell him!" Mal threatened.

"Nope. That's up to youuu!" Evie said in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up," Mal said, smiling.

"Harry and Mal, sitting in a tree, K I S S-"

"Shut up!" Mal cried, laughing. Suddenly, her face dropped.

"What?" Evie asked.

"I can't break up with Ben. That will literally start a war."

Evie stayed quiet, knowing she wasn't wrong.

"Gil wants me to pull a Louisa on Ben."

"WHAT?!"

 **...**

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed! If you did, leave a review and let me know! I love to know what you guys are thinking, and once again, a big thanks to "Blood Faerie .xx", for helping me with the idea! Thanks for reading! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N - Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it, and if you like it leave a review and let me know!

...

Chapter 15

...

"WHAT?!" Evie exclaimed. "He's not serious though, right?"

"No, I think he is."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know," Mal answered, playing with the ends of her hair. "I was kinda hoping that you would decide for me..," she trailed off.

"You mean you wanted me to tell you it wasn't a stupid idea so you wouldn't feel guilty about it?"

Mal glanced sheepishly at her. "It's just, I don't know what else I can do. I can't break up with Ben because I will quite literally be murdered as a result of it, but I can't spend another god knows how long pretending to love him when all I want to do is jump Harry!"

Evie grinned. "Well, maybe don't go around advertising that you want to 'jump' him, okay?"

"I'm not stupid!"

"I know! But, be careful." Evie paused, thinking about the original statement. "Do you think you will?"

"Jump Harry?" Mal said, looking at her incredulously.

"No! Pull a Louisa!"

"Oh!" Mal laughed. "I don't know. Do you think I should?"

"I really don't know," she said, pondering all the possible outcomes of what could happen. "I mean, theoretically, yes, you could, because there is no one better at lying on Auradon than you. But actually? I don't think it would actually solve anything."

"I guess," Mal answered, picking at her nails.

"Then again," Evie started, "it's not like anyone would actually find out, right? That's the whole point. And, if you know that you're definitely going to break up with Ben at some stage, then you could always just 'announce' it after that," Evie said, meeting Mal's gaze.

Mal sighed, running her hands through her hair. "This is so stressful," she muttered. "And it wouldn't be, with Harry and I, you know?"

"I know, hun, but you've gotta decide what's right," she said, wrapping her arms around Mal. "You'll do the right thing for you, I know you will."

"Thanks, E," Mal murmured.

"Anytime. Now, we have a dinner to get back to."

The two of them made their way back to the dining room, and as they were coming up to it, were greeted by the sound of raucous laughter.

Everyone looked up at them as they re-entered the room.

"Ya done gossiping about us now?" Harry called to them, a huge grin on his face.

"You wish," Mal sassed, sitting back beside him. "We have far more important things to talk about than you, pirate," she said, sticking her tongue out at him, as he chuckled back at her.

"That's it!" Audrey cried. "Ben! You're letting them ruin our dinner party! This is a brilliant example of why you should not invite children from the Isle to a sophisticated dinner party! Mal has done nothing but behave inappropriately this whole time! Do something!"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Harry roared.

There was a pause, and an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Mal placed her hand on Harry's forearm, moving her thumb in small, comforting circles, stopping him from doing anything else. She glanced around the table at the rest of the VK's.

"Let's go," she muttered, standing up and pulling Harry with her.

She looked back at the table, at Evie and Jay already starting to get up. "You guys stay," she said, smiling at them. "I know Jay would cry if he didn't get his dessert," smiling as he laughed in agreement. "And anyway, Harry and I need to talk," she said, looking pointedly at Evie, who was still contemplating going with them. She nodded and sat back down.

Mal glared up to the top of the table, at Audrey and at Ben. "Thanks for standing up for me!" She said to him, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "Enjoy your sophisticated dinner party." She spun on her heel and walked out of the room, Harry following close behind.

As they left the castle, the chauffeur awaiting the whole group at the end of the evening jumped to attention, and walked up the path to meet them.

"It's fine, thanks," Mal said quickly. "We're going for a walk, to cool down."

He nodded, and stepped aside for them to pass.

"So, Princess," Harry spoke, nudging her. "Where we going?"

"Don't call me Princess," she muttered. "And the beach."

"Thought we weren't allowed on the beach?"

"Yeah well, rules are made to be broken. You coming?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Lead the way."

They walked down the rest of the castle lane, until they were out of sight from the windows and the driver. Mal pulled Harry into a small, narrow sidestreet, and grabbed his hand.

"Ooh, someone missed me!" He smirked.

"Shut up."

Mal closed her eyes, and muttered softly under her breath. Just like that, the two of them were standing on the beach, hands still entwined.

"Very impressive, Princess," he whistled.

She glared at him.

He laughed, and tugged her closer to him, tucking her under his arm, and began to walk along the beach. They walked in silence, however, it was a content, comfortable silence, and neither one felt particularly inclined to disrupt it. Harry stopped after a while, and pulled away from Mal, shrugging off his coat, letting it fall to the ground, as Mal watched.

"I can't believe you wore that thing to the King's castle," she grinned, poking it with her foot.

Off came Harry's shoes, socks, and scabbard, and joined the pile forming on the sandy floor beneath them.

"What are you doing?" Mal asked, curious.

"Going for a bloody tea party," he answered, staring at her. "What do ya think I'm doing?"

"I don't know, but if any more clothes come off, I think it might be a cause for concern."

"Aye, alright," he said, continuing to shed layers. His shirt came off next, revealing chiselled muscles underneath. His arms had always been defined on the Isle; a given due to his line of work, but they had definitely gotten better since Mal had last seen him.

"Harry, seriously, what are you doing?" Mal asked, exasperated.

He sauntered over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning in close to her head. She breathed in deeply, hoping he wouldn't feel how fast her heart was beating.

He leaned in even closer to her, his mouth hovering over her ear, his breath tickling her neck. "Love. We're on a beach. Alone. At night. And I'm stripping. We're going skinny-dipping," he whispered, his hands toying with the bottom of her shirt, teasing it up, bit by bit.

"Harry Hook," Mal whispered, pulling his head towards her mouth, so he could hear her.

She was driving him mad. Having her so close, in his arms, no less, was more than enough to allow him to die now and die a perfectly happy man.

"Yes, ma wee dragon?" He answered her softly, tracing his finger along her jaw.

"We.. are…"

"Aye?"

"Definitely…"

"Aye?"

"NOT SKINNY-DIPPING!"

...

A/N - Thanks for reading! If you liked it, leave a review and let me know! :)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N - Hey Guys! Happy Summer everyone! Anyway, here's the new chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer - The lyrics used in this chapter are not mine, they're from Descendants - If Only.

Chapter 16

"Harry Hook," Mal whispered, pulling his head towards her mouth, so he could hear her.

She was driving him mad. Having her so close, in his arms, no less, was more than enough to allow him to die now and die a perfectly happy man.

"Yes, ma wee dragon?" He answered her softly, tracing his finger along her jaw.

"We.. are…"

"Aye?"

"Definitely…"

"Aye?"

"NOT SKINNY-DIPPING!" Mal exclaimed, shoving him off of her. Harry groaned in exasperation, turning his back to her and running his hands through his hair.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" He roared. Mal didn't even flinch. She stood, watching him, albeit cautiously.

"We can't do this, Harry," she muttered, looking down at her feet.

"Do what?! All I wanted was to go for a goddamn swim! You didn't have to come with me!"

"You knew bloody well that I would be coming with you!" Mal yelled at him.

"WHY?!" He screamed at her.

"WHY WHAT?!" She screamed back.

"WHY WOULD YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME?!" He walked the few steps between them and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. Mal froze, and took a long breath in.

"What do you want, Harry?" She said in a low voice, gazing at him.

"You know damn well what I want."

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Mal shoved him off for the second time that evening. She turned on her heel, and paused for a moment, Harry watching her curiously. She bent down, and slipped off her shoes. She walked slowly toward the water, allowing the waves to submerge her feet. Her thoughts were flying by at a million miles an hour. Her heart was racing.

"I can't actually do this, can I?" She thought to herself. A song that she had sung a long time ago slipped into her head. "The circumstances couldn't be more different," she thought. She began to sing.

"Am I crazy? Maybe we could happen? If only I knew what my heart was telling me, I don't know what I'm feeling…" she trailed off, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Harry was mesmerised. Her voice was hauntingly beautiful. He approached her slowly, and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, both of them watching the waves, far out.

Harry spoke softly in her ear, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"We could do it, ya know."

For a single moment, absolutely everything was silent. All they could hear were the waves, crashing father out in the water, and softly lapping against the shore. Then, as fast as a shot being fired, two became one. Mal grabbed Harry, pulling him down to her, kissing him like never before. Harry responded just as enthusiastically, lifting her up into his arms, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They melded together, fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, kissing for what seemed like an eternity. They finally broke apart, and slowly unraveled from each other. Harry took Mal's hands in his.

"C'mere, love," he said softly, tugging her with him.

They moved farther up the beach, away from th water. Harry sifted through his pile of discarded clothes, until he retrieved his coat. He spread it out across the sand, and lay on top of it, pulling Mal on top of him.

"We used to do this," she said, craning her neck to look at him.

"Do what?"

"Look at the stars."

"Aye, we did," he responded, as memories came flooding back to him.

Mal watched him. "Don't."

"Don't?"

"Don't think about all the things that happened on the Isle."

"Why?"

She sighed, wrapping herself tighter around Harry's body. "It hurts."

"Not anymore, love," he said grinning down at her, holding her close.

"You can't tell anyone about this, Harry."

"I'm not daft!"

"I know, but, seriously. No one, and I mean no one, can find out. Not until I sort out Ben."

"I promise."

Mal smiled, and relaxed again.

"However," he started.

Mal's head shot up.

"However what?" She said, glaring at him.

"Calm," he said, smirking at her. "I was going to say, however, I suppose Evie is exempt from this rule?"

"Mal huffed and flung her head back against him.

"Well? He prompted.

"Of course it excludes Evie," Mal grinned. "That was a given, Pirate!"

"Oh, back to 'Pirate', are we, ma wee dragon?" Harry asked her, smirking.

They fell into a comfortable silence,each of them enjoying the others company, basking in the moonlight. Harry only realised how late it had become when he began to feel the freezing cold waves surrounding his feet, a cold sea breeze assaulting him from all angles.

"Shit," he thought. "I bet the way we came is already flooded."

"Mal," he whispered to her.

There was no answer.

"Mal!" He said, slightly louder.

"Shit! Of bloody course Sleeping Beauty chooses now to fall asleep!" He muttered to himself.

He clutched Mal tightly to his chest, and rose slowly, trying desperately to keep his balance. He made it to standing upright, and grabbed his coat off the ground, draping it over the sleeping girl in his arms.

As he bent down to grab the rest of his clothes, he realised all too late that they were gone, long gone, swept away by the tide. He glanced around frantically, looking for some way he could get them off the beach. Panic rose in his throat as he failed to find one.

"Well, we're screwed," he thought to himself. He could see further down the beach where the waves were already crashing high upon the shore.

Mal stirred in his arms, and tilted her head up to see him.

"Hi," she said sleepily.

"Hi yourself," he replied, grinning down at her.

"You're cold," she said, snuggling into his neck.

"Love, we've got a bit of a problem," he said, glancing at his feet.

"What?"

"Um. Look down."

"Shit! How long were we here?!" Mal exclaimed, sitting up in Harry's arms, throwing him off balance.

"Easy, love," he said, wobbling around, trying to steady himself.

"Here," he said, turning her and putting his arms around her waist. "You ready?"

"Yep."

He lifted her up over his head and set her carefully on his shoulders, her legs hanging down his chest. She absentmindedly began running her fingers through his hair.

"Any ideas?" He asked her. "Oh, and by the way, my clothes and your shoes are gone."

She laughed. "Good. I didn't like them anyway.

"Speak for yourself," he grinned. 'I quite liked my new clothes!"

"No you didn't! Besides, Evie can make you more, seeing you liked them so much."

"Do you think you could ask her to use less cotton and more leather?"

"Will do," she smiled, giving the top of his head a kiss.

Harry winced as the freezing water reached his shins.

"As much fun as this is, love, we really need to get off this beach. The only other place I've seen the tide come in this quickly was back at Pirate Cove!"

"This is one of the most dangerous beaches when it comes to the tide coming in," Mal answered. "Which is why students aren't allowed here!" She said, looking pointedly at him.

"Excuse me, I think you're the one who brought us here!"

"Yeah well, when I come here, I don't normally fall asleep!"

"You come here?"

"Sometimes. It's like my little place away from the rest of the world. Even the teachers don't come here. It's nice," she said, looking around.

"And you let me come here?" He asked.

"I trust you."

Harry had no reply to that. He was stunned. He squeezed her calfs slightly, knowing that she would understand.

"Anyway," Mal said, clearing her throat. "We've got about seven minutes before this is neck-high."

"Oh good," he answered sarcastically.

Harry paused for a minute, thinking hard.

"Mal?" He said, panic rising in his voice.

"What?"

"You can't swim."

"I know, but why does-" She paused, realisation dawning other. "Oh shit."

Harry chuckled, despite himself.

"Right. How do we get out of here?" She asked, more nervous than before. "Turn around."

Harry turned, and Mal examined the ledge in front of them.

"Where's the lowest part?" He asked, catching on to her idea.

"There," Mal pointed.

"That's further down. By quite a bit."

"You can swim."

"Not with a koala clutching to my neck!"

"It's our only choice, Harry, and it shouldn't be deep enough that you need to swim. It'll be about chest level. Ish."

"Ish?"

"Well it might be a bit higher.." she trailed off.

"Well, guess that's what we're doing then," he said, beginning to walk down the beach. As he walked, the water creeped higher and higher up his body.

"WOW THAT'S COLD!" Mal exclaimed as it reached her feet.

Harry tried his best not to panic as the water reached his chest. "Not much further," he thought to himself. "Keep calm."

As they finally reached the lowest part of the ledge, the water was shoulder high on Harry.

"Love, I don't know who you think I am, but there's no way on this earth that I can get us up there."

"I know," Mal said calmly. "Now, I'm going to stand on your shoulders, so, uh, don't move, please," she said nervously, as she began to move.

Harry sighed. "You're gonna need to kneel first, then lift one foot up."

"Okay," Mal said, as she followed his instructions, trying not to worry about the possibility of her falling.

"I won't let you fall," Harry said, as though he had read her mind.

"Thanks."

After a brief moment, Harry spoke.

"Right, you're standing, now what?" He asked, holding onto her cold feet tightly.

"I'm going to get up onto the ledge, and then I'm going to get you up."

"How?" He asked her incredulously.

"Trust me."

"I do."

Mal leant forward slightly, her face scrunched in concentration. Her hands made contact with the top of the ledge, and she grabbed on tight.

"Harry?"

"Aye?"

"Can I..?"

"Just do it, love," he chuckled, bracing himself.

Mal held on tightly to the ledge, and lifted one of her feet off Harry's shoulder slowly, giving him time to readjust and balance. She then placed that foot on his head, and in one, swift movement pushed off of it, and brought her leg up onto the ledge, pulling herself up.

"Excellent, love," Harry praised her. "Now, how are you getting me out of here?" He asked, trying not to panic as the water reached his neck.

"Wait here," She said, and ran off, out of his sight.

"MAL!" He yelled. "I DON'T REALLY HAVE TIME TO WAIT!"

She appeared suddenly, holding branches she had found.

"What are you going to be able to do with that?" Harry asked, terror rising in his voice.

"Shh," she scolded him.

She began muttering under her breath, and then, she threw the branches into the air, holding her hands out in front of her. She continued muttering, which Harry now realised was a spell.

The branches began ripping apart, twisting and turning in the air, until they had formed a ladder. Then, it tripled in length, and flung itself over the ledge to Harry. Mal didn't move. Her hands were shaking now, and she continued muttering, holding the other end of the ladder in the air, allowing Harry to climb it. And he did. Years spent climbing ropes on his father's ship had given him lots of practise, and he was up it faster than a monkey climbing a tree. And it was a good thing he was, for just as he stepped away from the edge, the ladder gave out, and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, as Mal collapsed.

Harry ran forward and caught her, holding her tightly. He grinned despite himself; even through all that, she had kept his coat safe.

"Come on, Princess," he said to the unconscious girl in his arms. "Let's get back to school, shall we?"

And, with that, he set off in the direction of the dormitory building, which he could see from there.

"Not that far," he muttered, forcing his exhausted, cold body to move, only after wrapping his coat back around Mal.

A/N - Thank you for reading! If you liked it, leave a review and let me know! :)


	17. Chapter 17

A/N - Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter! So, I would just like to mention how sorry I am for the long wait, some major stuff happened in my life, but I am so, so, so sorry. Anyway. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 17

Harry glanced around the corner, clutching Mal to his chest. It was past one in the morning. He knew that they would both get into trouble if they were caught. He snuck down the corridor; years of sneaking around coming in handy. He finally got to the right door. He knocked softly, praying that it would be heard only inside the room.

The door opened, and a small crack of light flooded out into the corridor. A mess of blue hair poked out. And then grabbed him. Hard.

Harry was yanked into the room, only just managing to stay up straight and avoid dropping Mal.

"What did you do to her, Pirate?" Jay snarled, gesturing to Mal. "Is she unconscious?!"

Harry paid him no attention, instead crossing the room, and laying Mal down on her bed, then stood up, facing them.

"Right," he started. "Questions may now commence."

"Where are her shoes?" Carlos blurted out,, curious.

Jay gawked at him. "THAT'S the most important question you could think of?"

Evie interrupted them both. She grabbed Harry by the collar and pulled him down to her.

"Do you have any idea how worried we've been?" She asked him, her voice low and dangerous. "Where were you?!"

"At the beach," he answered her.

"At the beach," she repeated, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Don't lie to me, Pirate."

"What? I'm not lying to ya!"

"YOU DON'T THINK WE CHECKED THE BEACH?! THAT WAS THE FIRST PLACE WE CHECKED!" She yelled.

Mal stirred, sitting up groggily. "Who's shouting?"

Evie rushed over to her, frantically checking for injuries.

"Mal, honey, what happened to you?"

Mal felt at her temples, a headache already forming. "I don't remember," she said, pushing herself up and resting back on her pillows. "The last thing I remember is, is," she frowned, concentrating hard. "The water being cold."

"Did you drug her or something?!" Jay growled at Harry.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" He yelled back. "I'D NEVER HURT HER!"

Mal spoke again, silencing them both. "Jay, don't."

Jay turned, looking at her incredulously. "Are you serious? He brings you back here, unconscious, might I add, at half past one in the morning, and I, as your brother, am not supposed to worry?!"

"He wouldn't hurt me, Jay," she answered simply.

"Unbelievable," Jay muttered, and stormed out of the room.

Carlos glanced nervously at the others.

"Go," Mal smiled.

"Thanks," he said, and rushed out after his friend.

The room fell silent.

Evie sat down on the bed beside Mal, glaring at Harry.

"You wanna tell me what happened tonight?" She asked him. Her voice told him it wasn't a question.

"We went to the beach."

"Which beach?"

"How am I supposed to know the name of it?!" He exclaimed.

"Mal?" She asked, glancing down at her. "Which beach did he end up taking you to?"

"I took him to Dead Man's Cove, E," Mal answered, looking pointedly at her best friend. "He didn't do anything to me, so will you please chill?"

"That's the most dangerous beach in Auradon! Are you out of your mind, Mal?!" Evie exploded. She quietened, letting Mal's previous statement sink in. "You took him?" She asked Mal softly.

"Yeah," she said, looking straight at Harry. "And we fell asleep on the beach and when we woke up the water had already cut off the path, so we climbed up the lowest part of the cliff," she finished, never breaking eye contact with him.

He knew exactly what she was doing. She didn't want to tell Evie about the magic, and if that's what she wanted to do, that's what he'd go along with.

"That's far further down the beach than the path though," Evie said, puzzled. "Surely the water was already completely in there?"

Mal paused. "I guess we got lucky."

"Aye, lucky," Harry echoed, watching her concernedly.

"But why were you unconscious, huh?" Evie started up again. "You're lying!"

"I'm not lying, Evie. I was completely panicked, you know that I don't like the water, and the rush of trying to find a way off the beach before we were swept out to sea, faded once we were safe, and without the adrenaline there anymore, I guess I just passed out."

"Is that what happened, Hook?" Evie asked him.

"Yep," he said, popping the p. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like a word with Mal."

Evie nodded, gesturing for him to come forward, closer to the bed.

"Alone," he emphasised.

"Where on earth am I supposed to go at nearly two in the morning?!"

"I don't really care," Harry muttered.

"Shh," Mal scolded him. "E, I know this is asking a lot, but can you just crash with Lonnie for what's left of the night?" She asked, pleadingly.

"But-" Evie started.

"Jane is staying with Fairy Godmother, so there's a free bed, and your sleepover bag is constantly packed anyway, so, please?"

"Fine," Evie sighed. "But you come get me if he tries anything, alright?"

"Oi!" Harry shouted, offended. "It's me you should be saying that to! She tries things with me, not the other way around!"

Mal laughed, smiling at him, and he grinned back at her.

Evie leant over Mal and gave her a quick hug, before lifting the sleepover bag from beside her desk and leaving the room, closing the door softly. They heard her soft footsteps heading down the hallway, then, there was silence.

"So," Harry started. "Finally got me alone, hmm? You gonna have your wicked way with me now? He asked her, smirking.

Mal smiled. "C'mere," she said, shifting over in the bed.

"Oooh, inviting me into bed, are we?" He laughed, as he climbed in, settling in and pulling her to him.

"Shut up," she murmured, swatting him lightly on the chest, before rolling onto her side, and curling up close to him, gently resting her head on his chest.

Harry sighed, completely happy. "You're ok, right?" He asked her, running his fingers through her hair.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You literally collapsed in my arms an hour ago. Remember that?" He chuckled, prodding her shoulder. "And uh, you lied to Evie."

"I don't want to talk about that right now, ok?"

"Ok."

"I'm fine, Harry," she said, lifting her head up to look at him. "Promise."

"I presume I'm staying the night then?" He asked her.

"How bold of you to presume, sir!" She teased, getting up out of the bed.

Harry folded his arms behind his head, watching her potter around the room. She bent down, and pulled a tank top and shorts out of a drawer, and set them on the top of the dresser. She stretched, groaning, as her asching muscles complained, before reaching behind herself and pulling her damp dress off, over her head, and discarded it on the floor.

Harry whistled at her.

Mal smirked to herself, and, still with her back to him, unclipped her bra and threw it over her shoulder at him, giving him the finger as she did so. She slipped the tank top on, and shimmied into the shorts, then turned around. Harry had already undressed and was lying in the bed, covers up to neck. Mal giggled at the sight.

"Oi! Don't you laugh at me! I'm freezing!"

She laughed harder.

"Get in here, you cheeky minx," he said, grinning.

She crossed the room and climbed in beside him. He grabbed her at the waist and tugged her towards him, wrapping his arms around her and intertwining their legs. Mal ran her cold feet up his legs, and he let out a yelp, and she burst out laughing again.

"You think that's funny, do you?" He asked her, planting a kiss to her forehead.

"Uh-huh," she smiled up at him.

"It's bloody freezing in here, luv, and you decide to further my pain?"

"The window's still open," she answered, cuddling up to him.

"Well get up and close it then!"

"I collapsed earlier! You do it!"

"I carried you!"

Mal laughed. "Just leave it then. We'll warm up eventually."

"I missed this," Harry admitted softly.

Mal looked at him, before giving him a kiss, and cuddling back into his chest.

"So did I," she replied, before they both fell asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms.

A/N - Thank you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N – Hey Guys! Long time, no read. Here's the new chapter; if you like it, leave a review and let me know!

…

Chapter 18

…

Mal shot up, sitting up straight in bed, her heart pounding. She gasped quietly for air, kicking the covers off of her, and getting up. She crossed the room, taking short, light steps across the cold floor. She reached the balcony door, and pulled it slowly open. She froze as it creaked, her head whipping round to check that Harry was still asleep. She watched him closely for a moment, and, seeing no response, quickly stepped out onto the balcony.

She took a deep breath, letting the cold air calm her. She tiptoed to the railing, and leant on it, watching the waves in the distance. She looked up, the full moon high in the sky, creating a silver sheen on the water.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms snake round her waist, holding her still. She jumped, cursing, before settling into his warm embrace.

"You scared me," she muttered, still staring out to sea.

"Sorry, love," came the murmured reply, as Harry nestled his head into her neck.

There was a moment of quiet; the waves lapping gently at the shore.

"Nightmare?" Harry asked.

Mal didn't answer, but nodded her head.

"You having those again?"

She sighed. "They never stopped. I thought if you were here, they would, but, evidently not."

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear.

"Don't be," she brushed off. "It's not your fault."

She turned around in his arms, facing him, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I woke you," she stated simply.

"Yep," Harry replied, popping the 'p'. "I'm still a light sleeper. You, on the other hand, could sleep through an earthquake."

She grinned. "I'm tired when I sleep, unlike some people," she said, poking his chest lightly.

He didn't reply, but pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her even more tightly. He held her as though if he didn't, she would disappear.

"You know I'm here if you want to talk, love," he mumbled softly into her hair.

"I know."

"And you know that you have loads of people who would listen to you if you asked them to."

"I know, Harry. I'm fine."

She listened to his heart beating in is chest. How it had a steady rhythm, much like the rocking of a boat. She thought back to the Isle, when she used to fall asleep to the sounds of boats rocking in port. It reminded her of that. She sighed sleepily against his chest.

"D'ya know what I think?" He asked her quietly.

"Mmm?"

"I think it's time to go back to bed, ma wee dragon," he whispered, picking her up, and carrying her to the bed.

"I can walk myself," she protested, glaring up at him.

"I'm well aware," he answered, laying her down on the bed. "But it's ok to have a bit of help from time to time. Have someone do something for you, instead of doing it all yourself," he finished, pulling the covers back up over them, and throwing his arm over Mal's stomach.

"I know what you're trying to do, Pirate. You can't trick me."

"What am I trying to do," he asked, in mock surprise.

"You're trying to get to me to realise that I should talk to someone about how I'm feeling because it will help my panic attacks and my nightmares," she answered, knowing she was right.

Harry didn't seem to care that she had seen through him. "Panic attacks?" He asked quietly.

"Shit," Mal muttered under her breath. "Nothing," she said, glancing up at him. "Promise. Just forget about it."

The last thing Harry wanted to do was forget about it, but he knew better than to push Mal to say something she didn't want to. God knows it had had disastrous consequences in the past.

Mal broke the silence. "You know we won't be able to do this when school starts, right?"

Harry came out of his thoughts, filing away that information for later. "Hmm?"

"This. Us. All of it," she replied, not looking at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, praying she wouldn't tell him that they couldn't be together.

"Ben is going to be in our classes, Harry. When I do break up with him, he's going to know that something was up if I start going out with you straight away."

Harry sighed, trying to follow her logic. "But," he started, trying desperately to find a loophole. "Surely he knows that we were together on the Isle?"

"He doesn't really like talking about the Isle. I can't imagine what his reaction would be if I started talking about my boyfriends on the Isle," she responded, giggling. "He'd go all Beast on me or something!"

"What if he, wait," Harry said. "When?"

"When what?"

"When you break up with him?"

"I don't understand," Mal said.

"You're actually going to do it?" He asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah," Mal replied, still not following. "I mean, we're together, right?"

"Yes! I mean, of course we are! As long as you want to. Cause I definitely want to. But if you-" Harry rambled, panicking.

Relief flooded Mal's face. "For a second there, I thought you were gonna say no!"

"Never," Harry promised. "I thought you'd go back to him."

"Why?"

"I'm a pirate. He's a king. Should be fairly obvious, love," he muttered.

Mal sat up, pushing him back on the bed, straddling him. "Guess what?" She asked.

"What?" He smirked. "You lookin' to get frisky, hmm?"

"Harry!" She exclaimed, swatting him lightly. "I'm being serious."

"Fine, fine. What is it?"

Mal took a deep breath, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Do you remember what you said to me when we spoke via magic mirror?"

Harry knew immediately what she was talking about. "Course I do."

"Did you mean it?" She asked quietly.

Harry raised his arms, cupping her face in his hands. "Yes. And you don't have to say anything back. Just as long as you know that I meant it then, and I still mean it now.

Mal smiled quickly. "Sshh. I love you too."

"What?" Harry said, gobsmacked. Of all the things she could have said, he was not expecting that. He knew that those words were special to her, and it took a lot for her to say them. He took her hands in his, running his thumbs over her fingers.

"Thank you," he whispered, watching her. "You know I love you too."

"Yeah," Mal replied, lying back down and snuggling into his chest. "I know."

"What time is it, love?" Harry asked her.

She glanced across the room, squinting her eyes to see the clock in the dark room. "Three. We managed to get a whole hour's sleep," she laughed.

"Better than some nights on the Isle," Harry grinned.

"Shut it, Pirate," Mal smirked. "We have to get up at eight, so goodnight."

Harry held her close. "Goodnight, ma wee dragon," he murmured, kissing her forehead gently, before both of them succumbed to sleep.

…

A/N – So? What did you think? Classes at Auradon will be starting soon, and there'll be lots of fun and drama then, so I'm looking forward to writing that! If you liked it please leave a review, and let me know! :)


	19. Chapter 19

A/N – Hey guys! Welcome back! Here's another chapter – hope you enjoy, and if you do, leave a review and let me know!  
…

Chapter 19

…

Harry stirred slowly, dragging himself from sleep. He felt something pressing down on his chest, and opened his eyes. A mess of blonde hair greeted him, splayed out all over his chest. He grinned down at the sleeping figure. He gently shifted her off of him, and stood up and stretched.

"Half bloody seven," he muttered to himself, glancing across the room. "She wanted up for eight."

He turned, contentedly watching Mal. "I'll wake her up in a bit," he decided, kissing her forehead softly, and walking over to the bathroom.

He closed the door behind him, and approached the shower cautiously, scratching his chin as he tried to remember what Mal had said about turning it on. After a few minutes of pushing and prodding buttons, he had a hot stream of water gushing from the shower head.

He quickly stepped in, allowing the hot water to cascade over him. "Oh my god, that's good," he groaned. "Hot water. Unbelievable."

He showered quickly, grabbing one of the bottles on the shelf at random and pouring it onto his hair. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he chuckled.

Once he was done, he stepped out and towelled off, before walking out to retrieve his clothes. As he finished getting dressed, Mal rolled over in the bed, groaning. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She saw him, and smiled.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi back," he answered, pulling on a pair of boots. "I used the shower by myself," he grinned proudly. "Are you proud?"

Mal laughed, getting up and coming over to him. "So proud."

She ran her eyes over him quickly. "You look good, Pirate. Where did you get those?"

Harry was wearing a slightly subtler version of his usual pirate attire. There was a lot of leather, per his request, and a pair of black boots. "They were sitting there," he said, gesturing to Evie's designing table. "I figured they weren't for any prince here at Boreadon," he teased, "So I put them on, and lo and behold, a perfect fit!"

"Yeah, she made them for you. She said it was a joy to work with so much leather. Expect more outfits soon," she replied, leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

"So," Harry started awkwardly.

"Yes?" Mal grinned.

"About last night. We never really finished our conversation, did we, love?"

"Nope."

"Should we?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Ben," Harry stated, watching her.

Mal sighed. "Okay. Shoot."

"You're goin' to break up with him?" He asked quietly, phrasing it as a question instead of a statement, his eyes full of uncertainty.

Mal grimaced, patting the bed beside her, inviting him to sit. "Yeah."

"How?"

"I have no idea," she muttered. "He's gonna go nuts. Maybe we don't have to tell him. Maybe we can just find you a ship and we can sail away. How's that sound?"

"Perfect, love. But highly unlikely."

"Yeah," she sighed again.

Harry paused, trying to think of something to say. "You know if you want me to, I'll help?"

"I know. But I think it might make things worse if it came from you, Harry." Mal groaned, throwing her head back. "He's gonna go insane. He's gonna actually go insane."

Harry watched her concernedly. "You alright, love?"

"Yes. No. I don't know," she pursed her lips together in concentration. "I don't know what to do, Harry. School starts again next week. We kinda have to have a plan before then."

"Well then," Harry said, standing up and tugging Mal with him. "We have seven days to worry about it. I'm sure we can spare a few hours today to relax," he said, leaning down and kissing her gently. "It'll all be fine, love. We'll work something out. Promise."

"Hmm," Mal started, smiling. "I'm supposed to trust the word of a pirate?" She teased.

Harry laughed. "Get dressed. I don't know about you but I'm starving. And we have five minutes before we're supposed to meet the others for breakfast, so, you'd better get a move on, princess!"

Mal glared at him in mock annoyance. "Princess?"

"You're the Princess of the Isle."

"No, Evie is."

"Yeah, technically, but, realistically, you are. Your mother's the Queen of Evil."

"That doesn't make me a Princess over an actual Princess, moron."

"Oi! Cheeky!" He grinned, enjoying their banter. "You're my Princess then," he whispered, capturing her lips in his.

"Does that make me a Pirate Princess?" She laughed.

"Yep. Ma wee Pirate Princess, then. Sorted."

She laughed, and began taking clothes out of various drawers. "I'm gonna be longer than five minutes getting ready, Harry," Mal started.

"Three minutes now, love," he responded.

"You remember where the cafeteria is?" She asked.

"Aye. Why?"

"Go and meet the others and tell them I'll be there in a bit, and order me something nice," she answered, kissing his cheek, and walking into the bathroom. "See you in a bit," she called through the door. Suddenly, it flung open again. "Make sure no one sees you until you get back out into the main area, or they'll know you weren't in your dorm last night," Mal smirked, poking her head around the door. "See ya at breakfast, Pirate!" The door closed again.

Harry chuckled, grabbed a black leather jacket off a rail in the corner of the room, and left, shutting the door behind him.

He arrived shortly after at the cafeteria, and strolled casually over to the others. Jay was pushing three tables together, to accommodate for their large group. Harry approached him; Evie, Carlos and Gil standing back slightly, not knowing what would happen.

Harry stood behind him, waiting for him to turn around. Jay turned, throwing daggers at the pirate with his eyes.

"God, if looks could kill," Harry quipped.

"You wanna bet?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Look, mate, I know we disagree about a lot of things, but we do have one thing in common."

"Oh yeah?" Jay snarled. "And what's that?"

"We both love Mal," Harry answered, looking him straight in the eye.

Jay froze, staring at him. "What did you say, Pirate?"

"I like it better when she calls me that," he muttered under his breath. "I said I love her."

Jay grabbed him, pulling him close to him. "Do you even understand how broken she was when we left?"

"That wasn't my fault," Harry muttered grimly.

"No it wasn't. But it doesn't change the fact that she was a wreck when we got here."

"I'm not going anywhere this time."

"Fine," Jay grumbled. "But listen to me, Pirate. You hurt her; I swear to god I'll kill you."

"If I hurt her, I'd want you to."

There was a brief pause. Then Jay extended his hand. Harry gawked at it, shocked.

"We good?" Jay asked. "We were friends on the Isle," he said, glancing sheepishly at the floor. We should stick together now, right? Look after Mal."

Harry shook his hand. "Aye. Thank you."

"Okay then," Evie exclaimed. "Crisis averted!" She gestured to everyone to sit down. As they took their places, she spoke again. "So, the others will be here soon, and they're kinda nervous to meet you two," she smiled, pointing at Gil and Harry. "So make sure you're on your best behaviour," she said, glancing around the otherwise empty room.

"What others?" Harry asked.

"Um, Lonnie, and Doug and Jane. They're, ya know, the rest of our group."

Harry smirked. "They're your booty calls?" He laughed.

Evie blushed. "Don't call them that. But, uh, yes. I suppose."

Harry chuckled.

"Uh, Harry," Carlos joined in. "Where's Mal?"

"She's in the shower. She said she'd be down in a bit."

Evie watched him, smiling.

Gil sat down on one side of Harry, the other unspokenly Mal's.

"Where were you last night?" He asked his friend.

"With Mal, ya moron!" He laughed.

"Did ya, you know?" Gil asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No," Harry said sternly. "We talked, and then we fell asleep. She woke up in the night, and we talked, and went back to sleep. That's it."

At this, he remembered something that had happened the night before. "Evie," he said, leaning over the table to the girl opposite him. "Mal said something last night that she didn't mean to, and then shut up about it, and I thought you could fill me in."

"Okay," she replied, "Shoot."

"She said something about panic attacks."

Evie sighed. "Yeah. What do you want me to say?"

"Well, do you know why?" He asked, desperate for information.

"Not really. She doesn't talk about them much. She said once that it felt like she was losing control. She didn't really know what was happening. But you'd have to ask her," Evie admitted.

"Okay," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Thanks."

"No problem." Evie glanced at him, debating whether or not to say something. "She needs you, Harry. You're good for her. Don't screw it up," she smirked.

"I won't," he answered truthfully.

"I know," she replied, smiling.

Just then, they heard voices outside. Jane, Lonnie, Doug and Mal walked in. Jane sat beside Carlos, Lonnie beside Jay, and Doug beside Evie. Mal strutted over and took the empty seat beside Harry.

"Hey," he murmured, smiling at her.

"Hi. Have we ordered yet? I'm starving!"

"No, we were waiting for you guys. So," he said conspiratorially, "Tell me who everyone is."

"Yeah, okay, Gil, you listen in too," Mal started, leaning forward to see him on the other side of Harry. "That is Lonnie," she said, gesturing, "Jay's girlfriend. She's the daughter of Mulan. That," she pointed out, "Is Jane. She's the daughter of Fairy Godmother." She lowered her voice. "There's something going on with her and Carlos, but no one knows exactly what it is. She's insanely shy, and is terrified of both of you," she laughed quietly. "And that is Doug," she indicated. "He's Evie's boyfriend. He's really sweet, and he's the reason we got to talk on the Isle."

Harry smiled, "I owe him one then."

"'Mal?" Came a quiet, timid voice from the other end of the table. "Will you introduce us?"

"Sure, Jane." Mal got up and stood at the head of the table.

"Guys, this is Harry, and Gil. Yes, they are pirates. No, they're not scary. No, Jane, they're not going to kill you. Okay?"

Everyone laughed. Jane relaxed, slightly at ease. Carlos glanced at her. "I'll look after you," he said softly.

"Okay," she blushed.

Mal went to take her seat again, noticing that there was a spare seat beside her. "E, who else is coming?" She asked.

"No one, why?"

"Eh, just an extra seat then."

A voice came from the doorway. "Actually, I could use that spare seat."

Ben walked in, sitting down next to Mal.

"Oh crap," she muttered under her breath.

...

A/N - Phew! Long chapter this time! Hope you enjoyed, and if you did, leave a review and let me know! :)


	20. Chapter 20

A/N – Hey Guys! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Leave a review if you have any thoughts or ideas; I love reading them!

…

"And then I said, "not as much as you!"" Gil roared. The VK's burst out laughing.

Lonnie, Doug, Jane and Ben looked at each other confusedly. Evie, Jay and Carlos were quick to fill them in, but Ben was left out of the loop; Mal too busy laughing with Harry to notice he didn't understand.

Ben sighed, glancing down at his watch. He tapped Mal softly on the shoulder. She turned around quickly, forcing a smile on her face to meet him.

"Hmm?" She questioned.

"Could I speak to you, please?" He asked, gesturing away from the table.

"Sure," Mal answered, swinging out of her chair and following him away from the table.

"Well?" She spoke, running her fingers over her nails.

Ben glanced behind her, catching everyone sitting at the table watching the scene intently.

"Perhaps," he started, as the others pretended they hadn't been listening, "We could go out into the gardens and speak?"

"Ben, I'm hungry, just say whatever it is you want to say, please," she replied impatiently.

"Mal, I really think it would be better if we spoke somewhere else about this."

"Ben, just tell me!"

"Fine. I don't think it's appropriate for you to be behaving in such a manner around Harry. You're a Lady of the Court, and my girlfriend,"

Mal flinched at the word 'girlfriend', but Ben didn't notice, and continued.

"And it's really not appropriate for you to be so 'friendly' with him," he finished, making speech marks with his fingers.

Mal stood, staring at him, shell-shocked. "Excuse me?"

"I don't think it is suitable for you to be spending so much time with him. I haven't seen you in weeks! You've spent all your free time with him!"

"Can you even hear yourself right now?" Mal asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Mal, please, just try to understand, you have an image to maintain!"

She lost it.

"WELL, MAYBE I DON'T WANT AN IMAGE TO MAINTAIN ANYMORE!" She yelled. "YOU EVER THINK ABOUT WHAT I WANTED, HMM?!"

Ben gaped at her; the others at the table watched on, shocked. Evie stood up, rushing over to Mal's side.

"Maybe this isn't the place to be having this discussion, honey," she spoke softly to Mal, placing a reassuring hand on her arm.

"No, I think it's exactly the place to have this discussion," Mal retorted, brushing her hand off.

"Mal," Evie said, warningly. "Easy."

"NO! NOT EASY! I'M SICK OF EASY!" Mal yelled, turning back around to Ben. "YOU DO NOT GET TO TELL ME WHO I GET TO HANG OUT WITH, UNDERSTOOD?!"

"Mal, stop this! You must be tired or something, you wouldn't normally act like this-"

"NO BEN! I WOULD ACT LIKE THIS!" Suddenly, she felt a surge of power flow through her. She closed her eyes and took a breath. When she spoke next, her voice was back to normal.

"You turned me into something I'm not to suit your publicity campaign. And I'm done. With it," she paused, glancing at Evie, then the ground. Thinking carefully for a moment, she decided what to do, and raised her head. "And I'm done with you."

The breakfast hall was silent. The air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife.

Ben let out a strained chuckle. "You don't mean that. You're just overwhelmed, and stressed, but we, we'll sort-"

"I mean every word of it," Mal responded softly. "We're over. I don't want to keep playing a part to keep people happy."

"But you, you need-"

"I don't need anything, Ben," Mal cut in, sharply. "I have Evie, I have my friends. I do not need you or your publicity campaigns, or the dresses and hair, or the shoes, or the nails, or the cameras, or any of it! I'm done playing Princess!"

"Mal, we can talk about this, I-"

"Ben, we're not talking about this. We are done. Period."

Ben was silent for a moment. No one else spoke, waiting to see what would happen next. Jane, Lonnie and Doug sat unbelievably at the table, not able to comprehend what they were seeing. Harry stood up slowly, approaching Mal and Evie slowly.

Fury rose in Ben's eyes. He clenched his fists, taking a shaky breath. "It's cause of him, isn't it?" He demanded. She didn't answer.

"You, you," he started, relatively quietly. "You ungrateful little BITCH!" He roared, lunging for her. He slapped her clean across the face, and grabbed her by the throat, practically tackling her to the floor.

Jay and Harry reacted instantaneously, jumping in to yank him off Mal.

"Let go of her, ya bastard!" Harry cursed, throwing himself down in an attempt to free Mal from his grasp. Jay wrapped his arms around Ben's waist, and lifted violently upwards, pulling him momentarily off of her. Harry and Evie used the few seconds to tug Mal out from underneath him, and away from the two boys slugging it out.

"I'll kill him," Harry muttered, an evil glint in his eye. "You alright, love?" He asked, running his hands over her, checking for injuries. Hs hand stopped on her cheek, where already a purple hand print was forming.

"You deal with Ben," Evie directed him, "and I'll deal with her."

"I don't need you to deal with Ben, or me!" Mal shouted. She launched out of their grasp, stalking over to where Jay was still struggling to pin Ben down. They both were shouting and cursing at each other, rolling about the floor like pigs in the mud.

"ENOUGH!" Roared Mal, spreading her hands out in front of her. A blinding blast of green light flew out from them. Ben froze, surrounded in a green vapour, like a corpse on the floor, with Jay straddling his stomach, pinning him to the ground.

"I DO NOT NEED SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER ME! I AM NOT GOING TO BREAK!" Mal screamed; all focus on her.

She stopped, spinning on her heel to look at her friends. "I- I have to go."

She stopped at Harry and Evie, both of whom were watching her warily.

"That'll wear off in about ten minutes," she muttered. "Can you deal with-"

"Course," Harry answered.

"And, someone calm our apparently traumatised friends, please," she added.

She glanced around the room, as though checking if she had anything left to deal with.

"See you guys later, ok?" She murmured, before leaving the room.

Everyone watched her go; no one entirely sure of what had just happened.

Evie glanced at the other Auradonians, still glued to their seats. "I'll sort them, I guess," she whispered to Harry.

Harry stood still; his eyes stuck on the door that Mal had disappeared through.

"Harry?" Evie prompted.

"She did it. She bloody well did it," he grinned, awestruck.

"What do you mean?"

He laughed, throwing his hands in the air in triumph. "Ma dragon's back!"

….

A/N – Hope you enjoyed, and if you did, leave a review and let me know!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N – Hey guys! Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy it!

…

She ran. The landscape rushing past her; blood pumping in her veins; wind whipping through her hair. She hadn't felt this free in a log time, and it was a welcome relief. But, she also hadn't felt this much power coursing through her in a long time, and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she could control it all.

She didn't have a destination in mind, so when she arrived in the woods near the beach where Harry and she were nearly stranded, she was slightly surprised. She stopped, staring out at the horizon, watching the waves crashing at the shore.

She hadn't felt like this in a long, long time. The magic inside her was too much for her to contain, and she knew that the resulting eruption wouldn't be pretty.

She took a deep breath in, and exhaled shakily. Her eyes flashed emerald green. She extended her palms slowly, revelling in the way that her power seemed to ooze from her. She watched around her, as green flames sparked and exploded from her hands, lighting the surrounding trees on fire.

They burned brightly in a circle around her; huge, roaring green fires leaping towards the sky. She gazed on, beginning to feel as though she was simply spectating. She was losing control, fast. And, in the past, that hadn't gone so well.

…

 _He watched her, as her entire body shook._

" _Harry," she called him, weakly. "I can't control this. You're gonna get hurt; you have to go!"_

 _Her eyes flashed brightly, and she trembled, all of her energy and will focused on keeping the power trapped inside her. If it got out, it would hurt people; hurt Harry, and that was the last thing she wanted._

" _I ain't going anywhere, love," he replied calmly, taking slow, cautious steps towards her. He extended his hands, reaching out to take hers in his. "I'm not leaving you to deal with this by yourself."_

" _You have to," she nearly whimpered. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, looking straight at him._

" _You won't. I trust ya."_

" _That's no good if I don't trust myself," she muttered, a quick grin flitting over her face._

 _Harry reached forward, taking both of her hands. "It's gonna be fine," he said gently, staring into her eyes._

 _Mal scoffed, but clutched tightly to his hands. "Don't be a sap," she groaned._

 _Harry chuckled. Mal grimaced, her eyes turning a bright, shining emerald green, and staying like that. His face sobered instantly, and he watched her, concernedly._

" _What can I do, love?" He asked softly._

" _Nothing," she ground out in response. "You should leave, but you're too goddamn stubborn to."_

 _Harry smirked. "Pot, meet kettle."_

" _Oh, shut up," she replied, but a small smile was present on her face._

" _Nope."_

" _Harry, I don't know what's going to happen."_

" _Well, we'll find out together then, won't we?"_

" _You're crazy."_

" _Crazy about you," he answered, sticking his tongue out at her as she rolled her eyes._

" _I'm scared," Mal said quickly, not meeting his eyes._

 _Harry sucked in a breath through his teeth. It was rare she admitted any kind of emotion. "You don't need to be. I'm here."_

 _Mal nodded her head, still looking at the ground._

" _Hey," he whispered, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her head up towards him. She met his eyes, gazing at him questioningly, waiting for him to speak again._

" _I love you, Mal."_

 _She stared at him, shocked. Suddenly, their entire surroundings shone with a bright green light. Huge explosions of green light seemed to fill the air, almost like fireworks. They lasted for a few moments, and then calmed down. As they faded from the sky, Mal's eyes slowly faded too, returning to their original colour._

" _See?" Harry started, pulling the shaking girl into his chest. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"_

 _Mal laughed anxiously, a feeing of pure relief flooding her chest. "I guess not."_

 _She was quiet for a few moments, allowing Harry to hold her close to him._

" _That wouldn't have turned out like that if you weren't here," Mal spoke._

" _I know," Harry returned. "Guess I'd better stick around then, huh?"_

" _I guess so," Mal replied, a true smile on her face._

 _Harry slung his arms around her shoulders. "I'm sue everyone on the whole Isle saw that show you put on there, love. We'd better get you back to your castle," he finished, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, and beginning to lead her home._

…

Harry wasn't there this time. Her magic was reacting more destructively, to say the least. She couldn't stop the emerald flames from spreading, growing. They were circling her, like an eagle circling its prey. She knew everyone in Auradon would be able to see them, even though the sun was shining bright this morning.

Mal felt her legs begin to give out, and she sank to the ground gracefully, before she could fall. She felt more and more of her energy leave her, as though her entire soul was being dragged out of her and added to the fires. The heat of them was beginning to make her feel dizzy. Her head began to spin. The darkness was closing in on her; the only thing she could still see was her green circle of fire. It spread throughout the trees, enveloping them in its fiery blaze. Mal fell completely down, and lay there, looking up at the sky, as her green flames consumed it.

She took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Her emotions were running wild; and she knew that that was what was fuelling the fires. Her anger at Ben; her annoyance and being treated like a doll; her confusion about Harry, and her love for Harry; her guilt for causing her friends to worry about her. She inhaled again, trying desperately to slow her racing mind, trying to think of something to focus on that wouldn't further elicit an explosion of magic.

So, she thought of the sea. She remembered how when she was little, she would look out at the sea from her bedroom window. Although the water around the Isle was brown and murky, if she gazed out far enough, she could see the bright blue waters further beyond, that she dreamed of roaming someday.

She could feel her pulse calming, her temperature cooling. It was working.

Then, she thought of Evie. How her best friend was so close to her that they were practically sisters. And Carlos and Jay, her two adopted brothers. They were a made-up, dysfunctional family, that somehow seemed to work together. She thought of her new Auradonian friends, Doug, Lonnie, Jane. Each of them was so good to her and the other VK's. They didn't have to be. They could be scared of them, or ignore them; the two options that most of the other kids at their school chose from.

Then, she thought of Harry. Of how calm, and safe she felt when she was with him. How hard it was to be apart from him. How happy, and scared, and excited, and nervous she was when she found out he was coming back.

…

She came back to the present, her mind tuning back into the situation around her, instead of her daydreams. She sat up, just in time to watch the last green embers burn out into the soil. She glanced around. The whole area around her was completely scorched; and so was she. Her clothes were burnt and singed around the edges, her hands and face scattered with soot and ashes. The tips of her blonde hair were tinged black, and her pale nails were filthy with soil and dirt.

She sat for a moment, thinking.

"Things have already gone to hell," she said to herself. "Might as well make things worse!"

Mal stood up, slowly, and a tad shakily. Once she regained her balance, she held her hands out in front of her. She thought carefully about what she wanted to happen, and pictured it clearly. Then, she was surrounded by a green smoke, and when it faded, she was unrecognisable.

Her clothes had changed completely; lightly coloured cotton replaced with purple and black leather. Her makeup; neutral colours to bold eyeliner and shadow. Her nails; from short and pink to long and black. And, her hair. Her hair was the most drastic change of all. Her blonde hair, which touched her lower back, was gone. And, in its place: shoulder length, purple hair.

Mal laughed ecstatically, running her hands through her new hair, and tracing the detailing on her leather jacket. She grinned happily, and set off back towards the school/

…

She had made it to the corridor of her dorm without anyone seeing her. There weren't that many people to see her; nearly all outside, enjoying the last week off school. She approached the door, and paused just outside it, suddenly nervous.

She shook her head, enjoying the way her hair bounced on her shoulders. These were her friends; she didn't need to be nervous! She could hear voices through the door. It seemed as though everyone was gathered in her and Evie's room. She could hear all of them. She smirked silently, anticipating their reaction to her new look. She wondered briefly where Ben was, but pushed the thought out of her head, deciding to worry about it later, and enjoy her friends' reactions. She pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

Immediately, the room fell silent. Everyone gawked at her. She did a little twirl in the middle of the room; inviting them to comment. Doug, Jane, Carlos and Gil's mouths hung open in pure shock. Lonnie, Jay and Evie wore huge smiles on their faces, staring at her. Mal watched them all. After a few seconds, she was met with loud inputs.

"You look amazing!"

"Look at your hair!"

"How did you do that?"

"It's incredible!"

Mal laughed, thanking them. She turned her head to Harry, who was leaning against the wall, and hadn't spoken a word since she came in. She sauntered over to him, stopping right in front of him; hardly any space between them.

"Well?" She asked, grinning at him.

He ran his eyes up and down her. He opened his mouth to speak, and closed it again, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Go on," Mal prompted, nudging him.

He met her eyes. "You- You look-" He stopped, then smiled. A huge, delighted smile.

"You look like you again," he said. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Ma wee dragon," he murmured softly. "You're back."

Mal answered. "And I'm not going away again."

"Damn right, you're not," Harry agreed. "I wouldn't bloody let ya."

He pulled her into him, cradling her head in his hands. He placed his lips on hers, gently, and kissed her.

Gil whooped, and Carlos cheered.

Mal broke apart from Harry and laughed at the two boys. She took Harry's hand in hers and tugged him with her, going to sit on the floor amongst the rest of her friends. She turned to the Auradonians in the room, all of whom looked quite shocked.

She sat, leaning against Harry's chest, with his arms wrapped around her.

"Well," she started, speaking to them more so than the VKs. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."

A/N – Hope you enjoyed! If you did, leave a review and let me know! :)


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